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DPMF Publications: |
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Working Group Report on The
Role of Democracy in Bringing About Sustainable Development and Poverty
Reduction - Working Group One (Abubakar Momoh) |
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The group had twenty-three members comprising diplomats, technocrats, administrators, politicians and scholars from across the continent. After exhaustive discussion on the three issues of democracy, poverty and development, the group came to the following conclusions that are summarised below and presented under five subheads.
Definition and Meaning of Democracy in the African Context
Democracy in the African context means the ability of the people to effectively take part in the choice of their representatives and to effectively participate in the decisions made on issues that affect them or the society in general.
In order for democracy to be meaningful, it must be characterised or underlined by the following principles: openness, representation, accountability, transparency and the defence, protection and preservation of individual and group rights.
The Role of Democracy in Development
African people, through struggles and decades of sacrifices, have rejected authoritarianism. Therefore, there is no alternative to democracy. To that extent, democracy is the only framework through which development can be facilitated in Africa. Any other form of rule will have no appeal to the African people.
For democracy to bring about development, it must put the people first. The people must be at the heart of the urge for development. The people’s urge for democracy is driven by the urge to develop.
Democracy can achieve development by seeking to understand and appreciate the needs of the people, their potential, their absorptive capacity and their drive or enthusiasm, which must be at the fore of the developmental agenda. In this regard, development for the people means human-centred development. It is that developmental cause which addresses the basic needs and /or social needs of the people. Such development also has the simultaneous capacity to empower the people socially, economically and politically.
Institutional Bases of Democracy and Development
Democracy needs well-nurtured institutions, particularly the civil service. To that extent, the civil services of Africa need to be re-tooled, re-trained and re-oriented to meet and to cope with the new challenges of democracy and development. The new virtues or principles to be encouraged are openness rather than secrecy, initiative rather than docile and pliable obeisance, democracy rather than authoritarian management structures, non-hierarchical leadership rather than top-bottom leadership, and honesty and transparency rather than corruption. In the foregoing regard, principles of red-tapism, careerism and the misapplication and subversion of otherwise well conceived state policies should be eschewed by civil servants.
Practices that discriminate against or marginalise women, youth, children and minorities should be checked
The democratic culture should be taken into all spheres of society, including the family, school, factory, political parties, etc. Democracy should not be seen as a statist project, or as a purely political project. It is about internalised values, which must permeate all facets of life.
Above all, only democrats can value or practice democracy. To that extent, the structures and mechanisms that produce partisan politicians and politicians on all sides of political issues should be well nuanced and underlined by the virtues of openness, accountability and representativeness.
The main goal of democracy is (or should be) the overall or well-rounded development of the people. Such a goal requires meeting the basic needs of the people and allowing them to enjoy freedom, which alone is the basis for exercising choice.
There is need to provide a reference point for the defence and protection of the rights of the individual and of groups. Increasingly, in Africa, group rights have come to assume more importance than individual rights.
There is need to develop or restore confidence in the corporate basis of nationhood and citizenship. This requires forging or revalidating the social contract.
There is need for a vibrant civil society through the renewal of social movements, associational life, trade union activities, student activism, and so on. The goal is the empowerment of the people.
There is need for liberation from all forms of marginalisation and domination—gender, ethnic, religious, class and foreign (including domination by the various international financial cartels and the Bretton Woods institutions).
African states need to invest in the development of human and social capital, infrastructure and the social needs of the people. This will facilitate development and nourish democracy.
Africa has long outgrown the philosophy of primary health care and primary education. Africa’s health and education needs are more complex. The HIV/AIDS pandemic should be addressed as a matter of political emergency.
Since hunger is the greatest threat to democracy in Africa today, it has to be tackled as a matter of urgency. In this regard, the goal of Africa should not be poverty reduction. This is because poverty reduction cannot address the issue of economic growth. Neither can hunger be tackled through Food Aid, because Food Aid is geared towards shifting Africa’s consumption pattern and distorting its production pattern. To that extent, Food Aid is a dangerous humanitarium.
Drought, hunger, famine, and dessertification also need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
The regional economic integration project should be pursued immediately. NEPAD should serve as a framework for the new economic project in Africa.
The African Union project is currently in heavy intellectual deficit. This should be redressed. Such concepts as African Renaissance need a deep intellectual fountain from which to draw.
Africa’s experts in all fields—social, economic and political—should be assembled to frame an alternative path of development for Africa.
Africa’s civil servants need to be re-tooled, re-trained, and re-oriented to meet the new challenges of democracy and development in Africa. Similarly, political leaders should regain confidence in themselves, seek necessary training and restore confidence in African rather than foreign experts in the formulation, implementation, and assessment/evaluation of African policies and programmes.
The wars and conflicts ravaging Africa are a very critical component of the crisis of African development and democracy. Wars retard development and they militarise societies, thus making them authoritarian or repressive.
The state cannot be by-passed in Africa’s development. It has to be central to it. Alongside this, there is need for planning and the protection of local enterprises and initiatives. The goal should be growth in profits and in jobs and productive investments.
Finally, the new so-called democrats who are becoming autocrats should be checked. State constitutions must be held sacrosanct and not be subject to the whims and caprices of individuals. In this regard, there is need for a thorough political education programme for political leaders and the people.