Reports from the Regional Workshops
Democracy Forum 2000

Chapter 4: Sub-Saharan Africa

The workshop was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 15-16^th May, 2000

Partner: Workshop was organized in collaboration with Development Policy Management Forum

( DPMF)

Introduction

Democracy, poverty and social exclusion are issues that have engaged the attention of donor agencies, governments, non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations (CSOs) within and outside Africa. The interest in these issues by the agencies is understandable because there cannot be meaningful sustainable development and growth without addressing problems posed by democracy, poverty and social exclusion. The promotion of democracy, the eradication of poverty (not alleviation) and social exclusion have become important development agendas which cannot be glossed over for the coming years.

Democracy is a question of participation and decision-making at all levels. Foreign institutions have been forcing African governments to adopt programmes and measures with little or no participation from the governments. The people of Africa have not been involved in the externally driven programmes. There is need for measures to redress the lack of participation of the African people in programmes aimed at poverty alleviation and reduction. Studies undertaken by researchers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have linking democracy, poverty and social exclusion have not adequately addressed the nexus between democracy and poverty and the formulation and implementation of strategies to eliminate poverty.

Mr Nyambi, the Resident Representative of UNDP Ethiopia, reiterated that the idea of poverty has been close to the heart of many people including the UN and UNDP. Defining poverty from a human development perspective, he stressed that poverty involves denial of choices, withholding opportunities from people to lead a good life and the denial of people from basic amenities. The target set at the He Copenhagen Summit of reduction and not elimination of, poverty by half by 2015 can only be achieved if the individual sees himself/herself as part of the process of poverty reduction. In other words, the participation of people in programmes and projects is one of the major initial stages of attempting at poverty reduction and consequently its eradication.

Since extreme poverty contributes to the loss of basic rights, the approach to development should be rights-based .To this end, the absence of democracy, good governance and accountable systems undermine efforts to reduce poverty. Consequently, governments must pursue holistic and proactive policies and programmes to liberate the poor. Specifically, both sectoral and thematic development plans must be formulated within a certain time frame, with the active participation of the people themselves. He also emphasized the use of information technology to liberate the thinking of the poor.

Key issues raised during the opening ceremony

• People and politicians must be educated on democracy

• External actors have their own interests and agendas which are sometimes counterproductive to African states;

• Governments hide behind external actors when they want to implement harsh and difficult policies and programmes;

• The encouragement of democratisation of global governance, that is, African governments adopting a united front to discuss issues like debt relief and cancellation as well as conditionalities with the donor community on a one-and-one basis.

Even though they were addressed in depth at the Vienna Conference on Human Rights (1993), Population and Development Conference (1994) Beijing Conference (1994), Social Conference (1995) and the Conference Biodiversity and Environment (1995), democracy and poverty remain to be major problems. These conferences have dealt with the issues of democracy, poverty and social exclusion but they have not seen democracy as a practical instrument of enhancing the lives of people. Democracy has not led to improvement in the quality of life despite elections and independent electoral commissions. In spite of elections, caste systems still exist while bureaucratic inertia and inefficiency in the provision of goods and services are still prevalent.

Accountable Governance

Presentation: Dr. S. Adejumobi, Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town

In his presentation on "Accountable Governance and Poverty", Dr. Said Adejumobi noted that some pessimists have indicated that nothing good can come out of Africa. There is what is referred to as "Africa fatigue" being experienced. This assertion is a direct challenge to African states. It was emphasized that an inroad to democracy can be promoted by governance. A distinction was then drawn between good governance and accountable governance leading to the conclusion that accountable governance is more precise than good governance, since it refers specifically to answerability and responsiveness. A historical trajectory of accountable governance shows that the current lack of accountability could be traced to the colonial period, which institutions did not promote answerability. In other words, the problem of unaccountable governance in Africa is not merely a post-colonial phnenomenon, but the "janus-face of an entrenched colonial practice". In the promotion of accountable governance, the emphasis has been on elections, which have to be well concretized for them to reflect the wishes of the people and facilitate an orderly process of leadership succession and change . Donors tendencies to place emphasis on the form rather than the content of elections in Africa is highly questionable. Engendering accountable governance in Africa incorporates but transcends the issue of elections. Other factors that are germane to evolving accountable governance in Africa include:

• The revitalization and reconfiguration of the state and its institutions in Africa;
• The institutionalisation of the notion of citizenship, especially in its instrumentalist dimension;
• Democratizing political power at the local level;
• Expanding the scope of civil society activities and purging them of anti-democratic values; and
• Engendering a culture of peace and stability.

Engendering accountable governance in Africa is an arduous task that requires the combined efforts of both internal social forces and the international community. Genuine efforts must be made to strengthen state institutions, like the bureaucracy, the judiciary and electoral body, while non- state actors like the press, rural association groups, trade unions, professional groups and the NGO community must be given a new lease of life. The latter group, that is, non-state actors must not only demand accountability from the state, but must in themselves also internalise the virtues of accountability, transparency and internal democracy. This is the only way they can be on a high moral pedestal to insist on those values from the state.

Accountable governance may not rapidly reduce poverty, or stimulate development, but it will create a context for the empowerment of the poor. Empowerment will allow the poor an opportunity to reorganise their lives, tap the avenues and possibilities available within the state structure and participate in the development process. A coalescence of all these should provide a new perspective and incentive for a culture of sustainable development in Africa

Discussion

• There is evidence of successes or achievements in the area of accountable governance. For instance, the struggles by women’s groups, trade unions and cooperatives in Zambia, South Africa and Uganda have created political space;

• Who is responsible for ensuring accountable governance and what tools are in place to promote accountable governance? In other words, what social forces are at play in accountable governance?

• Traditional civil society organizations like labour movements, teachers unions and cooperatives (which exhibit internal democratic tendencies) have been ignored by donors and attention focused on advocacy groups (which generally lack internal democratic practices);

• Despite of the modest progress made in democracy and poverty alleviation, there is more room for improvement;

• There is a nexus between democracy and poverty, in spite of which, it has come to the realization of the few. Consequently, there has been a misdirection of resources by donors.

• Democracy provides to a large extent the context or the enabling environment for the eradication of poverty and social exclusion;

• The state in Africa has not been allowed to evolve by itself. Constraints and parameters have been forced on the way to state development. For instance, in the 1960s African states were asked to follow the Westminster model. In the 1970s, states must either be capitalist or communist. In the 1980s, with the introduction of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs), there is the idea of a "shrinking state".

• In spite of their weaknesses, CSOs have been at the forefront in promoting democracy and eradication of poverty;

• Operations of some of the external actors undermine accountability and answerability;

• Lack of participation paralyses accountability because most of the basic policy decisions and programmes are made outside Africa;

• The presidential system of government does not promote accountable governance because power relations are skewed in favour of the executive arm vis-à-vis the legislative and judicial arms;

• There is need for creation of a new framework for government-civil society relationship because some of the governments in Africa come out of labour movements and civil society organizations;

• All stakeholders must be involved in promoting accountable governance and see democracy, accountable governance and stability as a continuum.

Recommendations

1. Develop Democratic values and principles: Values of democracy and human rights must be fostered through fundamental civic education. In this regard, the state along with the civil society is to serve as the purveyor of democratic values by expanding the social base and activities of the civil societies; ensuring accountability within civil society groups is also key in facilitating accountable governance in the broader society. The issue of citizenship is also crucial to promoting a culture of accountable governance.
2. The revitalization of the state in order to promote accountable governance will also involve the reform and indigenisation of the laws and practices governing state institutions, which include, the bureaucracy, the military, police force, judiciary, and other key agencies and institutions of the state. The is to be achieved through a process of broad consultations and dialogue among stakeholders and those with expertise and informed knowledge about the operation of those institutions, with an objective to evolve new laws and operational norms that allow for ‘openness’, ‘public scrutiny’ and ‘accountability’ in their affairs. It is a point worth noting here that the judicial system in most African countries still practice colonial laws and bureaucracy. These laws are mostly rigid, illiberal, and less reflective of local peculiarities. It is essentially required that state institutions such as the judiciary, electoral body, etc. are ensured greater autonomy or relative independence for their effective operation.

Participation

Presentation: Prof. J. Ayee, University of Ghana and Prof. D. P. Chimanikire, Director, Institute of Development Studies, University of Zimbabwe

The presentation on Participation, Poverty and Social Exclusion" emphasized that participation is crucial to good governance, hence the interest of donors and governments in the concept. He made a distinction between horizontal, vertical and administrative processes of participation and noted that the administrative process of participation is more important than the other two varieties of participation because it focuses on interest group activities shaping administrative and policy decisions. The paper also identifies the following advantages of participation.

• Mobilization of greater resources;

• Provision of services at less cost;

• Promotes greater better project design;

• Ensures that felt needs are served;

• Catalyst for mobilizing further local development efforts.

Notwithstanding the merits of participation, the experience in Africa has been mixed. Participation has become a political catch-word and has resulted in dilemmas such as access, responsiveness, professionalism and effectiveness on the part of administrators of projects and programmes and target groups.

The political, bureaucratic and socio-cultural constraints constitute the main obstacles to to participation in Sub-Saharan Africa, of which the political constraints are still the biggest . African leaders still pursue the paternalistic and neo-patrimonial tendencies, used to consolidate their power and prestige. Other constraints to participation include:

• Reinforcement of existing inequities rather than stimulating desired system change;

• Participation takes additional time and resources to mobilize less developed communities;

• Difficulty of finding effective channels of communication through which individuals or groups at the local level can participate;

• Lack of homogeneity of interests within groups and the fundamental differences between local and national interests.

In spite of the shortcomings, participation can be promoted by strong political and bureaucratic commitment, empowering the poor through training them to acquire managerial and technical skills, promotion of genuine devolution of power and the involvement of civil society organizations in the activities of the rural poor.

A case-study on "Accountable Governance and Poverty Alleviation Programmes in Zimbabwe" was presented by Dr. D. P. Chimanikire, where he asserted that poverty in Zimbabwe is closely linked to the history of the country. The pre-independence political and socio-economic climate tended to favor whites as opposed to blacks, who settled on poor quality and small portions of land whilst whites occupied vast tracts of fertile land. After independence, therefore, the major challenge that faced the government was the redressing of the inequalities of the past. This was done with the adoption of statist/welfarist policies, influenced by the socialist convictions of ZANU-PF. The measures taken, however, failed to combat poverty and redress the inequalities. The government was forced to abandon its interventionist policies in pursuit of market-oriented reform known as Economic and Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) in 1991 with very little consultation with or participation by the people, which runs counter to ESAP’s touting as a homegrown programme. Although the private sector has welcomed ESAP the labour movement has protested against it because of the untold hardship it has brought to its members. ESAP has failed to achieve its objectives for a number of reasons:

• The concept of indigenisation is a dicey one, since the ESAP was high-jacked by a small of group of white entrepreneurs;

• The land question has not been seriously tackled which has led to the current occupation of white farms by ex-servicemen;

• Constitutional reforms have been demanded and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have been in the forefront.

Consequently, a Zimbabwean Millenium Economic Recovery Programme was released in February 2000 to steer the country towards restoring economic stability. The programme aims at protecting vulnerable groups and bringing stable incomes and reducing poverty among the masses. In addition, a Human Development Report has been prepared which becomes a blue-print to be followed by the government to build a consensus on political, economic and social issues.

Discussion

• There is widespread democratisation with elections being held, the proliferation of civil society organizations (CSOs) and their activities in the creation of political space;

• There is evidence of successes or achievements in the area of participation. For instance, the struggles by women’s groups, trade unions and co-operatives in Zambia, South Africa and Uganda have created political space;

• Participation of women, youth and other institutional mechanisms have brought political and social changes in some southern African countries, for instance South Africa and Zambia;

• The level of political consciousness is a key in promoting participation and good governance;

• Emphasis on the role of political parties which are regarded as mediating force or the conveyor belt in political participation. In this connection, are political parties organized in a democratic manner and do their manifestos aim at eradication of poverty?;

• Participation, if well pursued, can make a difference in reducing inequality;

• In a racially divided Zimbabwe, what type of constitution would promote accountability and participation and what strategies can be put in place to alleviate poverty given the land question?;

• Further reformation and strengthening of the state should be undertaken to make it more accountable, responsive to issues of democracy, poverty and social exclusion.

Recommendations

A number of key issues under this theme were identified and the actors responsible to undertake initiatives for the realisation of the goals associated are the state and civil society organizations.

1. Increasing participation: The level of political consciousness is crucial to promoting participation. Managing participation requires more than including the public at one stage of the design process or in evaluation of a programme. Genuine participation informs the meaning and integrity of the entire process with an attitude of openness to the perceptions and feelings of others. It is an awareness of contributions that others can bring to an activity. In sum, accessibility to information and education does indeed promote participation.
2. Developing a national Agenda: Formulation of a national agenda through dialogue by all stake- holders is a prerequisite for participation. It needs to be a part of a broader conceptualization of development with much more attention to organizational structures and linkages.
3. Promotion of local governance to achieve genuine decentralizations: Participation is impossible without extensive decentralization of public organizations, which should be secured through constitutional provisions. Although sub-Saharan African countries have implemented decentralization programmes, these have failed to promote decentralization.‘Genuine decentralization’ heavily depends on political factors such as:

• Strong political commitment and support from national leaders to transfer planning, decision-making and managerial autonomy to lower levels of administration or to private sector.

• Political leaders must be willing to accept the participation in planning and management of local organizations that are outside the direct control of the central government.

• Effective channels of political participation and representation must be developed that reinforce and support decentralized planning and administration and allow citizens, particularly the poor, to express their needs and demands to press claims for national and local development resources.

Citizenship and rights

Presentation: Dr. M. Tegegn, Director, Panos Eastern Africa

In the presentation on "Citizenship, Rights and Social Exclusion" Mr Melaku Tegene traced the concept of citizenship from the Industrial Revolution and defined citizenship in global terms. He emphasized that the experience of human development has proved that without the active, voluntary and independent participation of civil society in the development and political processes, neither development nor democracy are attainable. Popular participation on the part of civil society is the only way to eventually transform what he called "dispensable billions of the world to indispensable ones". He, however, cautioned that civil society cannot be viable and promote development without the participation of women (and youth), who constitute the organic source of the African society. The women have been disempowered and never part of the power structures, a situation which is not correctable without the deconstruction of the patriarchal system and the reconstruction of the development paradigm that incorporates gender as its indispensable component.

The question of citizenship and rights, Mr. Tegene argued, can only be addressed properly under the concept of good governance. In addition, the presentation criticized the withdrawal of state subsidies in the education and health sectors as a result of structural adjustment programmes that has led to the redoubling of the burden of women as the burden of child rearing and child-care rests on their shoulders. Consequently, the expansion and globalization of the market have led to the deterioration of humane, egalitarian and democratic values which have been influenced by global cultural industry such as the Hollywood, the macho mentality, which are all on the rise.

Discussion

• The rights of citizens cannot be guaranteed when there is the crisis of the state;

• There have been challenges to and problems of citizenship over the last decade. Citizenship is fluid as one has been experienced in Zambia and Zimbabwe. In South Africa, for instance, the influx of people from the North has been resented by the government and the indigenes;

• Citizenship must not be assessed within the context of ethnicity, social groups, language, regionalism. Rather the recognition of the individual per se is more important than indicators of ethnicity, social groups, language and regionalism;

• Constitutional guarantees of rights do not necessarily confer citizenship on individuals;

• Although there are constitutional guarantees of citizenship, why is it that they have not been enforced?

• The idea of citizenship must be traced to the Greek city states and not to the Industrial Revolution;

• The right of civil societies in policy formulation has been exaggerated. The experience in Africa is that civil society organizations have played a greater role in policy implementation rather than in policy formulation;

• The paper has not dealt with specific issues of citizenship in Africa;

• Africa’s problems are connected with global issues;

• The proliferation of civil society organizations (CSOs) over the last century means that they have a rightful role to play in shaping policies and programmes. In Kenya, for instance, CSOs have realized their role in shaping policies and programmes since 1992.

Recommendations

1. Citizenship is a political and controversial concept. The notion of citizenship should entail substantive forms of rights (equality in individual and human rights, free and universal political participation), obligations and freedoms, to be explicitly protected by the constitution. The state should play the leading role, together with CSOs and external agencies , to ensure adequate enforcement of these rights.
2. In view f the understanding that extreme poverty constitutes loss of basic rights, governments, civil societies and external actors must pursue poverty reduction policies and programmes which are rights-based, with active participation of the people.
3. Recognition of civil society as one of the key players in development. Without the participation of civil society in the development and political process neither social development nor the recognition of its rightful role in a democracy can be realized. Thus as a crucial imperative for social development, it is the state’s responsibility to facilitate the space for development and political participation for civil society.

Role of External Actors

Presentations: Dr. J. Adhiambo-Odoul and Mr. P. de renzio, UNDP Mozambique

Dr Jackqueline Oduol’s prefaced her presentation by noting that democratic principles have a role to play in programmes and projects. Democratic principles provide space for ethnicity, regionalism and vulnerable groups to organize and articulate their views on issues of concern. In her view some external actors like the Department for International Development (DFID) and UNFPA not only provide technical advice and support but also a framework for monitoring and evaluating programmes. Each of the actors has advantages and weaknesses.

For instance, UNDP has enjoyed close relationship with the state and CSOs in Kenya. The support offered by the UNDP to the Kenyan Women’s Political Caucus Group has resulted in the creation of political space by the Group. Similarly, in Kenya, the government’s efforts aimed at fighting poverty have had to rely to a significant extent on funding provided by external actors. She emphasized that external actors are very important and they must not be solely blamed for Africa’s problems. She concluded by stating that efforts aimed at dealing with the problems of the poor in Africa require interventions that invariably require the interplay of effective decision making at the national level, the active participation of CSOs and the contribution of external actors.

In the presentation on "Good Governance and Poverty: Some Reflections Based on UNDP’s Experience in Mozambique" Mr Paolo de Renzo argued that the linkages between democracy and poverty reduction are not missing but tenuous and in need of further clarification and strengthening. This is largely due to the complex nature of the processes involved. The UNDP’s "Overcoming Human Poverty Report (2000), identifies four specific areas where attention should be focused when addressing the ways in which governance and poverty are co-related:

• Elections at the national and local level, meant to promote accountability;

• Accountability through the establishment of appropriate systems of monitoring and control that allow for a fair and transparent allocation of government resources;

• Decentralization of decision-making and of resources which provide a more enabling environment for poverty reduction; and

• Accessibility of the poor to information and communication, which will enhance people’s capacity to understand issues, to participate in public life more constructively and to create important linkages that can result in coalitions for change.

UNDP in assisting the government of Mozambique in the promotion of good governance based on democratic principles, coordinated international support to the general elections held in 1994 and 1999 as well as the municipal elections held in 1998. Similarly, the independent media sector has been supported by UNDP/UNESCO. In the area of decentralization, UNDP has supported provincial governments by strengthening their strategic planning capacity and facilitating their linkages with district administrations through equipment and running costs. Furthermore, under its Economic Management Programme, UNDP has supported provincial and district directorates for finance and planning in order to maximize the transparency, efficiency and effectiveness in the utilization of public resources by local government units and ensure the sustainability of their efforts.

Based on the above, Mr. de Renzo concluded that the links of governance and democracy " in poverty reduction exists clearly, but are often weak, or blurred. Thus extensive efforts are required by external actors for:

• Attempts to make them more explicit;

• The adoption of more flexible procedures that allow for more flexible procedures that allow for a longer time-frame and different evaluation methods; and

• A careful analysis of local, social, cultural and political realities.

Discussion

• There is the need to disaggregate external actors since their interests, operations, agendas and modalities differ. This is because they include the Bretton Woods institutions, private agencies, bilateral and multilateral organizations, national corporations, human rights groups and multinational corporations;

• External actors have a role to play in democracy, poverty reduction and social exclusion. Some of them have not only provided technical assistance both have assisted CSOs in providing checks and balances. However, one should question the democratic intentions of external actors;

• Boundaries between external and internal actors must be clearly defined. External actors can be very decisive in creating positions for internal actors. For example, presidents and some ministers of finance can be made or unmade by some external actors;

• The role of some external actors in poverty reduction is questionable and complex. For instance, the activities of multinational corporations can result in environmental problems and dislocation of people;

• Some of the conditionalities of donors are contradictory, namely those of effective decentralization involving financial capacity and increased expenditure. This contradicts conditionality like reduced government expenditure;

• Some of the external actors are good in terms of their operations and interests while the interests and activities of others are counterproductive;

• There should be a coordination and harmonization of activities of local and external actors in order to promote democracy and poverty alleviation. These will reduce duplication and improve flexibility in programme implementation;

• Some external actors have become a bridge between CSOs and the state and this must be sustained. The extent to which some external actors have brought national players to form a consensus on national issues and programmes is commendable;

• Transformational leaders are needed in Africa. This will not only provide ownership of policies and programmes but will also reduce the patronizing attitude being exhibited by some of the donors;

• There needs to be a partnership between external actors and African states. This partnership can be fostered through dialogue and consultation between the external actors and African governments. A good partnership works in a reciprocal manner. The present disparity between the supply side and demand side should be corrected;

• The idea of partnership involves contractual obligations between the parties. This comes through dialogue;

• In spite of disparity of resources between African states and donor community, a level playing field is required in the determination of conditionalities;

• Northern CSOs have a great role to play in ensuring the ownership and coordination of policies and programmes;

• State-civil society relations must be proactive, vigorous, trustful and meaningful to solve issues and problems of democracy and poverty;

• Democracy, poverty alleviation and eradication as well removing social exclusion must be a collective effort of all.

Recommendations

1. Democracy agenda: Both internal and external actors must be transparent and accountable. There is a need for a democratic audit or a checklist to assess whether the activities of external actors are consistent with the democratic principles (or) and in line with the requirements of the programme.
2. Partnership: There is need for building a viable partnership between external actors and African States to obtain co-ordination and ownership of development programmes.