After the three reports had been presented, the plenary session went on coffee break to commence discussion on the reports immediately after the break. 

In starting the discussion on the reports, the Chairman of the session, Mr. A. Darga, raised the issue of methodology to be adopted in the discussion.  Two options were raised.  These were, to either discuss the reports individually, that is one after the other, or to discuss them together.  The second option was adopted by the participants, that is, the reports should be discussed jointly. 

Comments 

G. Mpangala 

He raised the issue of political conditionality by the World Bank and the multilateral institutions on democracy and good governance in Africa.  He contends that these issues should not be externally driven and the choice determined by outsiders.  For him, the people should be allowed to choose what is best for them. 

Amanda Peterson 

She raised issues on two major things.  These are: 

1.                  The idea of free press which group I recommended as being germane to democratization.  She argues that this is quite important and must be taken seriously.

2.                  The issue of gender equality.  She advocated that a centre for Gender Equality should be established possibly as an arm of the OAU or as an autonomous NGO to coordinate issues on gender and promote the cause of gender equality. 

O. Oyediran 

He followed up the issue of the media raised by Amanda.  He insists that it is essential that the media is free in spite of the form of ownership of the media.  On gender issue, Oyediran cautioned that although gender issue is important, women should not arrogate to themselves the sole wisdom of discussing the issue as it is currently happening.

Abraham Abebe 

He raised the issue of elections discussed by Group I.  He said that Group I should clarify what it means by good remuneration for those managing elections, and also the issue of an equal leveled field for political parties in the electoral arena, as ruling parties almost everywhere have used the power of incumbency in the electoral process.  Furthermore, he contends that there is a need to clarify the notion of peasantry.  Who is a peasant?  In addition, he raised the issue of party funding.  Should there be a limit to party funding even by members?  Should ruling parties be allowed to appropriate state resources for their parties?  Also, he raised a question on civil society.  He admits that civil society existed in the colonial era in Africa, as Group II observed in its report, he, however, raised important queries regarding the nature of that civil society. 

After this contribution, the chairman intervened in the discussion by inviting Franco-phone participants to contribute, and if need be, such will be translated into English by other participants present, who have volunteered to do so in the absence of an interpreter. 

Berhanu Abebe 

He raised a question of clarification on the difference(s) between peasant organizations and peasant mobilization.  That the peasantry is mobilized for a political purpose/cause does not mean that the peasantry as a social category is organized.  

Said Adejumobi 

He commented on a few issues and these include: 

1.                  How is the problem of civil control over the military to be resolved in Africa.  The military has in most African countries constituted itself to be a serious obstacle in the process of democratization in Africa.  He suggests that the plenary session must consider very seriously the issues of militarization and demobilization.  And that the option of a non-military state as in Costa Rica, which some have suggested, requires to be well discussed. 

2.                  The impact of the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) on the democratization process requires some attention, as what is going on in Africa currently are double transitions - political and economic - which may not impact on each other favorably. 

3.                  The issue of the role of the Western nations and multilateral institutions in Africa’s democratization process also requires close scrutiny.  Their role as the example of some countries clearly illustrate may not be so positive and benevolent, sometimes it is very dubious and questionable.

 O. Oyediran 

He reacted to comments made to the report of his group.  He said he agrees with the comment made on finding a way on how to maintain civil control over the military. 

K. Frimpong 

Rugumamu and Mutahaba 

The concern of the two participants was mainly on the press.  In their view, the control of the press and the interests it serves, have an economic dimension.  Those who own the press determine the nature of news reporting, etc., denying in most cases the people and the opposition parities a voice in the media.  This needs to be rectified. 

Gebru Mersha 

He queried the notion of primitive accumulation used by Group II in their presentation.  According to him, the concept of primitive accumulation arose out of the historical experiences of Western countries in the early process of the development of the capitalism, and he then questioned its relevance to the African context.  Also, he argues that there appears to be a confusion in the use of the term state and government.  That, if this confusion is not clarified, we should possibly be talking about civil society-government relations and not civil society-state relations.

Archie Mafeje           

Mafeje’s comment was partly a reaction to the last observation on civil society-state relations.  According to him, we could talk of state-civil society relations, and we could abstract the civil society from the state.  He cited a few examples on the complexity of this interaction.  For instance, a state may not exist in Somalia, but there is a civil society.  A state might have collapsed in a place like Rwanda or the Congo, but a government exist and there is of course civil society.  The point being made is that the interaction between civil society and the state may be complex, but it is real.

Phillip Mpangala 

His comments were on the peasantry.  He contends that the peasantry exists in Africa.  However, the kind of organizations they have are essentially cooperative societies, where they undertake more of self-help projects.  He suggests that there is the need to study closely peasant organizations properly and what kind of consciousness they have and how that impacts on the political process.

Aman Peterson 

She commented on Group III’s report.  She supports the idea of setting up of the office of the ombudsman for African countries where complaints of children, war victims, etc. can be heard and addressed. 

Comments on Minimum Election Contest Age 

The issue of no minimum age limit for participating in election contest recommended by Group I, in which they suggested that an electorate who is old enough to vote should also be qualified to be voted for, generated intense controversy among the participants.  On the one hand, some argue that not providing a minimum age limit for seeking public office may ridicule the political and electoral processes, as “under-aged” and incompetent hands may find their way into power or key elected public offices.  On the other hand, some argue that first, it is the prerogative of the electorate to determine who they want to serve them.  If they want an 18-year old person to rule them, once it is done through the electoral process, reflecting the wishes of the people, then so be it.  Secondly, that youths in Africa are currently very dynamic and should be allowed to take positions of responsibility and decision-making.  Thirdly, that if you enfranchise a person to vote, it is fair that he should be allowed or be capable to be voted for.  Fourthly, that there is no linkage between age and good performance or ruler-ship, while some elderly ones have performed very dismally, some younger ones have done a little better. 

It was resolved that the issue of age qualification for seeking public office should be made country specific.  That is, left to each country to determine depending on their local peculiarities and circumstances.

Diossely Kone 

He raised the issue of what the boundary of the discussion of Groups II and III should be.  He contends that Group II went beyond its mandate in discussing the issue of democracy and good governance and as such it was outside the scope of their mandate and that is possibly why there is a lot of contradiction in the position of the group and that of Group III on good governance and democracy.

Darga and Mafeje 

Darga and Mafeje reacted to the last comment.  Their position was that there is no rigid mandate for the groups in their discussion and that it was appropriate for Group II to have discussed the issue of good governance and democracy. 

Darga 

Darga called the attention of the forum to three major issues which have been raised in the course of the discussion, which participants need to draw their attention to.  These are: 

1.                  the peasantry

2.                  state

3.                  democracy and good governance. 

Consequently, discussion was opened on these issues which the chairman highlighted. 

Adejumobi and Biaya 

Adejumobi said that what Group II sought to do by discussing the issue of democracy and good governance was to conceptualize those terms, show their  linkage and historicise them, in order to set them in proper context and understand how they have become major issues both of political discourse and emerging political agenda for African countries.  Biaya on his part underscored the role of the World Bank in undermining good governance in Zaire (now the Republic of Congo). 

Result Of Conference Reports And Papers And The Way Forward For DPMF 

After general discussions had been completed on the reports, the next issue which came up for discussion was on what is to be done with the Conference papers and reports and what is apparently the way forward for DPMF to make it more effective, relevant and productive.  A ‘few suggestions emerged’. 

First, some suggested that the Conference proceedings should be published in a book, in which some of the papers and reports would be included and widely circulated to African Universities, research centers, government agencies, state officials and policy makers and so on. 

Second, there was a suggestion by Amanda Peterson, that her organization which deals with publishing and information dissemination through a Magazine, can assist in popularizing the activities of DPMF and the results of its Conferences. 

Archie Mafeje raised the issue concerning the direction and focus of DPMF.  He pointed out the various levels at which an organization could operate, and these include knowledge production and dissemination, but as for him, he is interested in the generation of knowledge.  He asked what kind of knowledge has DPMF produced in the last two years and what is its mission?  Is it policy analysis, knowledge production or policy management?  Further, Mafeje suggests that there may be the need to set up a committee to look at and edit the proceedings of the meeting and produce a book from it, thereafter the issue of dissemination of what is produced may then arise. 

Both Mutahaba and Abdalla Bujra, the Executive Director, responded to the comment on the direction and focus of  DPMF.  Mutahaba contends that DPMF was set up to provide discourse and ideas beyond the issue of structure and institutions on policy issues, and go into the area of policy processes, though examining the social dynamics of policy, its environment, forces at play, analyze all these and make recommendations. 

Bujra on his part pointed out that DPMF is at its formative stage, as it came into existence about three years ago and has been trying hard to find its bearing and carve out niche for itself.  It is an organization in its gestation period.  The organization was formerly referred to as DPMN (Development Policy Management Network), but was later changed to DPMF intended to capture the dynamics of the tasks it has to perform.  According to Bujra, the African environment is in a state of flux which DPMF has been trying to grapple with.  The main idea of DPMF is to produce ideas, to further the frontiers of knowledge, analyze and create a forum for knowledge producers and policy makers to exchange views towards a better knowledge generation and policy. 

In Bujra’s view, the purpose of this conference is to try and create new frontiers of knowledge on the topical issues of democracy, civil society and good governance. 

Bujra also reiterated the need for the setting up of an advisory committee to advise the organization on its activities generally, which include setting the agenda for the next conference, editing the 1998 conference papers and recommending new areas of activities. 

A participant raised the issue of how the conference reports when eventually produced will get across to the policy makers and how will it influence policy making in African countries. 

Bujra responded to him, arguing that the gap between knowledge production and policy making is a problem which has existed for a long time.  Even when policy makers get the result of a conference, there is no possibility that it would be utilized as there are numerous competing inputs and pressures which go into policy-making.  However, Bujra disclosed that the result of DPMF’s activities are usually widely disseminated through the conference proceedings, bulletins, etc. The Bulletin of the DPMF, for example, is usually produced in a simple language, so that everybody can read it. 

Said Adejumobi attempted to put in a clearer picture and summarized the major thrust of the discussion on the way forward for DPMF.  According to him, the discussion centers on one single issue.  That is, the mission statement of the DPMF and the strategies for achieving it.  He said such a talk should better be left to the board and the secretariat of the DPMF to sort out as it borders on the existence of the organization itself.  However, he said within the broad scope of policy management which DPMF says is its goal, four levels of focus can be identified.  These are: 

1.                  Knowledge production and dissemination

2.                  Policy advocacy

3.                  Training

4.                  Providing a forum for policy makers, academics, and civil society actors to exchange ideas, which may not necessarily lead to knowledge production. 

He advised that the Board and the Secretariat should deliberate properly on this, and streamline their focus after which an advisory committee may be set up to assist in carrying out its identified target. 

The chairman of the session, Mr. Darga, on behalf of participants thanked the conference organizers especially the secretariat led by Mrs. Martha Kebede for organizing a highly successful conference. 

Bujra, the Executive Director of DPMF, gave the vote of thanks.  He thanked everybody for honoring the invitation of the DPMF and participating in the conference very well. 

SUMMARY OF THE MAJOR COMMENTS ON THE DISCUSSION

OF THE THREE GROUP REPORTS 

1.                  That democratization in Africa should be endogenously situated and not driven by external forces.  Although external forces may complement positively the struggle for democracy in Africa. 

2.                  That a free press is germane to the democratization process in Africa, and such must be well encouraged 

3.                  That political parities must have equal opportunities in the political and electoral processes, including the ruling parties not having undue advantages in funding, electoral laws and procedure. 

4.                  That the issue of minimum age limit as a criterion for the qualification for the contest for public office should be left to each country to decide.  However, the mood of the discussion tilted towards eradicating minimum age limit for contesting for public office.  If an electorate is old enough to vote, he should be qualified or capable of being voted for. 

5.                  That a vibrant civil society is key to a new culture of politics.  And the civil society itself must show features of accountability and internal democracy in its activities for it to impact positively on politics and governance in Africa. 

6.                  That civil control over the military is germane to successful democratization in Africa and that the issues of demilitarization and demobilization of the armed forces in African countries were unnecessarily large armed forces concerning the public funds.  If possible, the idea of a non-military state as in Costa Rica may be considered for most African countries.  In this situation, a regional military force is created to handle the issue of regional security. 

7.                  That the economic context of democratization in Africa is quite important and must be seriously considered, as such determines the scope of the economic and social space afforded by the political project. 

8.                  That the relationship between democracy and good governance is not obvious and may be more complicated than imagined. 

9.                  That the result of the conference (i.e. the papers) should be published and well circulated globally. 

10.              That an advisory committee should be set up by DPMF to deliberate upon and advise DPMF generally on its activities, including handling the editing of the 1998 conference papers and ensuring their publication, suggesting the theme of the 1999 conference and assisting in clarifying a new course for the organization.