Mr. Chairman
Dear Participants 

On behalf of the Ethiopian Parliament, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to Addis Ababa where, I hope, you will have a pleasant time and successful deliberations. 

The theme of the conference: “Democracy, Civil Society and Good Governance in Africa”, is a very timely subject for discussion among political leaders and members of the civil service, civil society groups, and researchers.  Discussions on the theme would indeed help to clear the way to our understanding of the deplane relationships among these actors whose joint enterprise is to create favorable conditions for the process of democratization of the relations between governments and citizens, the development of civil society and the creation of efficient, transparent and accountable state institutions. 

Democracy and Good Governance are lacking in some parts of Africa despite the fact that there has been a ceaseless popular demand for them.  We need democratic governance, because it is the infrastructural basis for sustainable economic development.  We should perform our activities in a transparent and accountable way in order to gain the confidence of our citizens.  Citizens confidence on the state leadership is a necessary condition for their meaningful participation in the political, social and economic development programme of any country. 

Africa needs democratic governance in order to enhance its citizens’ participation in the decision making process of matters which could directly affect their political, social and economic interests.  Some of the basic principles which underline the promotion of democracy in our continent and which this conference may consider them in its deliberation could be the following: 

·        most African countries have constitutional systems where in the constitutions are restrained a peaceful transfer of power.  This should be promoted and maintained as a basis for Good Governance. 

·        transfer of power in African countries should be done with the consent of the citizens which can be gauged through regular, fair and free elections. 

·        Respect for the basic human rights and rule of law should be promoted throughout the continent. 

·        The necessity for the recognition of and adherence to the principle that sustainable peace, democracy and development can only be achieved through the full participation of all citizens regardless of differences in nationality, color, race, religion, sex and language in all political, social and economic development programmes. 

      The points mentioned above are important and hence would call for a special attention of political leaders, policy makers and researchers.  Serious researches should be carried out in order to strengthen good governance in our continent. 

Mr. Chairman 

      At present, civil society in Africa is not well-developed and its role in promoting democratic governance seems to be minimal.  However, relations between the state and civil society should be strengthened in order to maximize the participation of our peoples. 

      It is clear that well-developed civil society groups can contribute to bring about peace, democracy and sustainable development in Africa. Besides the lack of vibrant civil society groups in our content, some countries in Africa have once again plunged into civil wars, and suffer from the effects of the lack of good governance and respect for basic human rights and rule of law.  Therefore, political leaders and civil society groups, and researchers in Africa should work jointly to overcome the above mentioned drawbacks. 

Mr. Chairman 

      I wold like to assure you that the Ethiopian parliament is willing to work with African civil society groups and researchers in order to create conditions for and internecine promote peace, stability and sustainable democratic transformation in our continent. 

      Once more, I wish you to have a pleasant stay in Addis Ababa and every success in your deliberations. 

Thank you.