Without Functional Governance Frameworks, Africa Can’t Develop

When the former president of the United States Bill Clinton put forward his proposition of becoming the American president, he knew exactly what the Americans needed. He knew it was “economy stupid”. This was the clarity and focus of his presidency. The mission was clear and resonated with the American voters. This seems a rare competence in many African leaders.

The reflection on the African countries indicates that the different leaders have failed to produce clear visions for transforming their countries. Clarity of vision is a precondition for socio-economic and political transformation. The story of African leaders seems to be a story based on trial and error. The leadership story on the continent seems not to be compelling enough to inspire transformation and qualitative change for citizens.

The World Development Report 2017 produced by the World Bank Group provides indication on what the African leaders and citizens need to focus on: “Governance stupid before economy stupid”.

The challenge of most developing countries, according to the report, is the question of public interest and policy. This can only be resolved within the context of functional governance frameworks. The report suggest that the global development community needs to move beyond asking “What is the right policy?” and instead ask “What makes policies work to produce life-improving outcomes? “The answer put forward in this World Development Report is better governance – that is, the ways in which governments, citizens, and communities engage to design and apply policies.

It is all about the process that shape public interest and policy that drive the development agenda.

The report also suggests that countries need to move beyond the traditional concerns about policy implementation, such as limited State capacity, to understand how individuals and groups with differing degrees of influence and power to negotiate the choice of policies, the distribution of resources, and monitor outcomes from policies. .

What is clear is that good polices can be failed by people that benefit from bad policy or no policy. That is why functional governance is a prerequisite for sustainable development outcomes that benefit all stakeholders that is government, citizens and communities through a deliberate inclusive frameworks.

What is evident is that in a number of African countries, governments have alienated their citizens and communities from the development agenda. Developmental projects are aloof from the citizens understanding and needs. This makes hard the process of monitoring public interests and policy that can deliver sustainable results.

For example, a policy to implement functional health system can be sabotaged by people who benefit from having private hospitals or those that don’t believe that government should operate hospitals even though all circumstances remaining constant.

African leaders and citizens need to appreciate that for the continent to move from the current challenges, the process of transformation is not a burden of the leaders in power, but the interests of all citizens and communities. The need for intentional and genuine engagements between the governments, non-State actors, citizens and communities is a precondition for sustainable development outcomes.

The leaders need to know that for Africa to develop, it’s governance, governance and governance stupid. The challenges in Burundi, South Sudan, Libya, Egypt, Somalia, South Africa, Cameron, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zimbabwe, among others, are mainly governance challenges.

These problems can be suppressed but cannot be overcome without the leaders rethinking the whole governance question and accept that the process of managing a State is not a burden of leaders but the interests of all citizens and communities through functional governance frameworks.

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Source: The Monitor

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