Political Freedoms Do Guarantee Economic Freedom

[Jacaylbaro]

Much talk has been made in regards to how the west, the near east, and others are looking towards extending a helping hand to Africa’s economic development. Much fanfare has also been observed in regards to business delegations and foreign companies opening up shop in Africa, declaring a new era of partnership with Africa.

 

All these developments, however, continue to only trickle down to the grassroots, bringing little change to the standard of living of ordinary Africans. Today, more and more pundits point to the lack of political freedoms as one of the root causes of economic marginalization.

 

For many investors in other parts of the world, mentioning Africa evokes images of civil unrest, war, poverty, disease, and mounting social problems, which understandably do not entice investor confidence. True, promoting peace, economic prosperity and sustainable development for Africa’s people is an uphill battle, and requires a tremendous amount of political will to make changes. But these changes sooner rather than later must be initiated.

 

One cringes upon seeing the spectacle of government reps who go abroad and walk on tightropes to woo investors, trumpeting investment potentials, progress in political spheres, and the prevailing resources and infrastructures available for investment use.

 

Africans have time and time again been told by their peers from the rest of the world that the main impetus for improving political, social and economic conditions must come from Africans themselves, and that the international community can only help in facilitating the changes rather than play the role of the protagonist. At this point, one has to examine how well African institutions are prepared to face the task of building democratic structures and garnering the necessary clout to actually implement their set mandates.

 

Perusing the US State Department’s 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, one sees that the state of human rights within the continent continues to deteriorate and in some cases remains in limbo. Despite the US’s own record in regards to human rights in recent years, one cannot discount the contributions of the report in regards to discussion of human rights. Building democracy in Africa cannot progress unless there is genuine commitment in regards to the respect of human rights, engendering political inclusion and creating equity in resource use.

 

Promises for a brighter future in the horizon lose their luster when backed only by rhetoric – action must be taken. First of all, African nations need to identify where the flaws are in regards to building democracy – do they fall under policies and laws, or are they the product of a lack of capacity for implementation? We have heard a lot in regards to the African Peer Review Mechanism, under which leaders would pat the backs of their colleagues on the good work they have achieved in good governance, only to snicker when that nation falls out of favor over its slow progress or regression towards totalitarianism.

 

One is not arguing that we should completely scrap the APRM, but rather widen the role of different stakeholders by giving more clout to more non-state actors such as civil society groups, the private sector and others. Governance is not an issue to be implemented by the palace or the state house alone, but should be seen as a sum of the efforts of the entire society, and any appraisal of a government should involve a diverse panel.

 

Priorities also need to be made to create an impartial justice system that is transparent and free from influence. The role of African high courts and supreme courts should move away from strengthening incumbents and move towards impartiality – this also should apply to other organs of governments. Constitutions have been put in place so that every individual, despite his or her political views, is accorded equal rights. It is vital that state organs be neutral in their activities and allow room for pluralism within the continent to flourish. Signing human rights conventions and ratifying them alone do not guarantee that a nation respects those rights – it can be proven only when citizens are accorded those rights in practice rather than in rhetoric.

 

 

Sub Saharan Informer