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Related news: A new network was launched in December designed to support citizen involvement in demand-side governance initiatives in Africa. The Affiliated Network for Social Accountability (ANSA)-Africa supports the engagement of citizens and civil society in building more effective states through social accountability approaches. Read article by the World Bank Institute ANSA-Africa website 20. Farai Maguwu - March 8, 2007 I hope the AU-EU strategy has something to offer to the suffering masses of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is in a similar, if not worse off scenario, than Darfur. Its only that guns are very silent in Zimbabwe but the death rate is very high due to structural violence and alarming levels of human insecurity. The AU should show the world that it will not tolerate bad governance by dealing with Mugabe once and for all. Sanctions are killing more Zimbabwaens whilst at the same time helping Mugabe tighten his grip on power. Human life is precious and we are tired of seeing thousands dying of malnutrition and preventable diseases each week. 21. Joyce Dimakatso Mpofu - March 8, 2007 Joyce Mpofu ( Accents International ( Researchers & Evaluators), South Africa) I fully support Sam Chuula’s comments. I wish to add that strengthening civil society participation at political, social and economic levels, focussing on making public leaders accountable at local, national and international levels is critical to move Africa to a different level. The AU-EU strategy has to incorporate citizen mobilisation & participation, accountability as well as trade promotion in Africa and between AU-EU especially for smme’s, the engine of growth. There is need for more trade less aid and engage Africans in the diaspora in finding alternative, creative solutions. Old debates, old issues, what is required are new ways of engagement! We can all play a role in making a difference. 22. Okeke, Adolphus O - March 8, 2007 In addition to what Kate Gooding said and my earlier contributions, of special mention is the issue of women with disablities in Africa who are the poorest of the poors. By the way ,how many of the humanright organisations in Africa more especially in Nigeria is taking special intreset in issues of disablity let alone that of African women with disabilities? You see, persons with disabilities have serious problem in Africa,more especially women with disablities who has been badly exploited. These are serious issues that must be discussed. I think EU, has a lot to do to help this group in any partnership with any African countries. 23. James K. Saybay - March 11, 2007 I strongly think that the issue of Human Rights education needs to be taken seriously in Africa than it is now. Human Rights Defenders need to be more pro-active in Human Rights Education than advocacy. When people know their rights then they know which is violated or not. 24. Greg Ngethe - March 26, 2007 The EU can best support civil society by being more proactive ,by being more responsive, and by willing to work with as many civil society actors as possible with a view to covering a lot of ground. The EU also needs to be more open-minded to civil society. Greg Ngethe, Nairobi, Kenya The National Centre for Research on White Collar Crime (ncrwcc) 25. ONDOUA ABAH GABRIEL - March 27, 2007 MERCI BCP DE NOUS ACCEPTER DANS CET IMPORTANT ECHANGE. Moi je suis une personne handicapée chargée toutefois de la promotion de tous les droits humains en faveur des personnes handicapées en Afrique Centrale et même dans le monde, en ma qualité de membre élu du Conseil mondial des p.h.. En remerciant la Communauté Internationale de nous avoir enfin dotés d’une Convention Internationale, NOTRE GRAND SOUHAIT : -Qu’elle rentre rapidement en vigueur par la signature et la ratification de 20 Pays ; - Que les personnes handicapées et leurs besoins spécifiques fassent partie des conditionalités pour les financement des Programmes de développement dans nos Pays, pour une réelle INCLUSION INTEGRALE ET GLOBALE DE NOS DROITS, favorisant ainsi notre PLEINE PARTICIPATION ET REPRESENTATION A LA VIE DE NOS PAYS. 26. Farai Maguwu - April 4, 2007 Talking of development before sorting out the governance crises is putting the horse before the cart. The humanitarian disaster in Zimbabwe is a reflection of the governance crises in the country and the failure by SADC and the AU to halt the Man-Made disaster reflects and aweful leadership crises on the African continent. Hotspots such as Somalia, DRC and Sudan all bear testimony to the fact that despite being endowed with rich natural and human resources, Africa is short of mature leaders who use public offices to serve the people. The mass exodus of professionals, economic and political refuges and millions of internally displaced persons means the joint EU/Africa partnership must place much focus on leadership training from grassroots levels. Credible organisations doing this work need the financial and material support to train as money Africans as possible. This task must not be given to serving politicians as the result is predictable: the funds will be misused. The partnership must focus into capacity bulding for the future of Africa. Institutions susch as the Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance at Africa University in Zimbabwe should be supported and their capacities to train more young African should be boosted by the EU/Africa partnership. The partnership should identify potential leaders in war torn countries such as Somalia and train them for leadership. Africa does not only need democratic leaders, but a democratic citizenry as well. Since the continent has embraced the western style of choosing leaders, that is elections, there is need to adopt the western type of limiting the power of leaders through the creation of space for civil society. Ironically many African dictators such as Mugabe have religiously clung to the western model of choosing leaders by the way of ballot but shamefully reject the western model of democratic participation of citizens in governance. There is need to harmonize the relationship between elections and active citizen participation after the elections have come and gone. The new partnership should invest more in civic education so that citizens make informed decisions and demand good governance from their elected leaders. Elections alone are not a good measure of democracy because they can be abused as is the case of Zimbabwe. The new partneship should try as much as possible to work with grassroots based organisations to increase checks and balances in governance. The new partnership should also agree with the African Union and other sub-regional groupings on acceptable methods of governance, below which santions will be imposed. The African union must make an undertaking to uphold the standards of good governance and do all to protect the people’s economic, cultural and political rights. this must be upheld in principle and in practice. The AU should, with all due respect, be willing to move with speed to address the crises of human security with the assistance of the EU. The current precedence of national security over human security must be addressed and be relegated to history. Solidarity with governments that have presided over the deaths of millions of people due to both direct and structural violence, as is the case in Zimbabwe, should be stopped. Finally the EU/Africa partnership, like any other partnership, must be conditional on the commitment of both parties to implement all agreements in ernest. 27. onono patrick - April 5, 2007 The partnership that fully supports institutional reforms and restructuring of ministry and transport network on amore commercial and autonomous basis .Inorder to ensure transparency of operation and to obtain desired quality at the best possible price,the European Commissions should govern the awards of contract works and supplies through competitive calls for proposals and award of grants through competitive calls for proposals. 28. Mariana Abrantes de Sousa - April 5, 2007 Good point about strengthening the local parliaments so that they can reinforce their supervision of the political and budget process, the overall resource allocation and the results achieved for the population as a whole. In some countries, general government tax revenues, which are monitored by the parliament, are less important than the inflows from natural resources or aid grants which may by-pass parliament altogether. 29. Francis Bainomugisha - April 8, 2007 If your questions on Governance point toward good governance, then i can comfortably say that governance support needs the involvement of all the Key stakeholders.Currently most of the governance support efforts have focused on government sectors. On the contrary we see more of economics determining the politics thus the state is threated and any efforts to ensure transparency will be disrupted. My view of this whole partnership approach advocates for a peaceful co-existence between the private sector and the government .Lets focus on the agency theory , let the state ensure human security and the private sector be boosted. In this way the governance support will yield much more results. Therefore the EU-ACP partnership should work with both the public and Private sector if accountability , professionalism and corporate responsibility (values of good governance) are to be achieved. 30. ROSELYNN MUSA - April 12, 2007 My comments are affirmative action for women in politics and decision making as a way of moving Africa forward in governance and human rights: The political landscape in Africa needs to change if it is to comply with development and democratic principles. To state that women and men do not enjoy the same freedoms and are not treated as equals is tantamount to announcing that the Second World War has ended. Who does not know that! Yet despite the introduction of universal suffrage several decades ago in most African countries women remain absent and under represented in politics and public office. Rather than enjoy our full human rights as far as politics, decision making and other human rights are concerned, African women are experiencing what a fried of mine has referred to as “human left” because we are being left behind. Antagonists of affirmative action as stated in the Convention for the Elimination of All forms of discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies, the Beijing Platform for Action (BPA) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, etc have often argued that positive discrimination equals discrimination; and that race, ethnicity and/ or gender take precedence over merit; and that affirmative action under values the people it is supposed to benefit. To my mind, these arguments do not apply to affirmative action policies for women because in the first place we cannot be referred to as a minority group and because we constitute a larger percentage of the population. Secondly, to pretend that the problem is lack of leadership qualities is both untrue and an insult to women. It is a glaring fact that it takes a lot more for a woman to launch herself into the political arena which is almost a reserve for men. Countless number of women have had to struggle against considerable odds in order to succeed in politics as well as attain key positions in government. Please do not get me wrong. I am not making a case for affirmative action, neither am I advocating for it. As much as I believe in it I feel that this is not relevant because this was achieved a long time ago. Rather, I am only asking that the promise be kept and the commitments transferred from paper to reality in the lives of African women. We have often been told that as women we will be disappointed if we wait for anybody to offer us our rights and that the only way we can realize our rights is to grab it. This sounds very empowering and motivating even if inciting. Anytime I hear this I immediately see in your mind’s eye the last nail being driven into the coffin of patriarchy in Africa and I visualize myself taking my oath of office this weekend as Africa’s second female president. (Whether democratically or undemocratically elected is another matter all together). My take on this is that there cannot be genuine democracy as long as this trend is allowed to continue in which women are directly or indirectly excluded in the political arena and positions of power. We should keep in mind that the Millennium Declaration is not only about nice speeches on utopia. They include to a great extent the realization of gender equality and this promise will only be kept if we take concrete steps to transform rhetoric into action. If we are to make any headway, women’s rights organisations such as FEMNET should not relent in advocating for women’s rights and particularly, women’s right to hold public office. Lobbying must target political parties and urge them to appoint more women. Other measures we could take to ensure higher percentage of women’s participation include, but are not limited to; awareness raising campaigns, creating a list of potential female candidates for public office, provide special funding for political parties sensitive to women’s issues, implement quotas and amend electoral laws to guarantee that political parties appoint certain percentage of women. It is essential that democratic principles are applied in schools so that girls and boys are equally empowered to take part in the social life of the school such as debates. This will give girls and boys the chance to empower themselves and discuss issues that affect them with confidence. The media is also a powerful instrument in promoting this cause. It could portray cases of gender imbalance that exist in the society with a view to naming ad shaming the perpetrators. Finally, the need to educate and sensitize society about gender issues cannot be overstated. This will play a catalytic role in bringing about positive changes in cultural beliefs, attitudes and customary practices which have tended too repress women for ages. 31. Suzette Mudeshi- Uganda - April 19, 2007 Governance as now refered to as governance and anti- corruption has risen to become a part of our day to day activities. But recently my Boss explained the 2 concepts as ” a culture to accept i.e. bribery, theft… so long as one is successful”. This i should say is and has for along time been the order of the day atleast in Uganda. Therefore if communication through education is enabled at the grass root level (communities) where by they are equipped with knowledge on governance issues and anti- corruption, only then can the primary responsibility of Africa in promoting governance be strengthened! 32. Stephan Gedenk - April 23, 2007 1. Is there a shared vision on the strengths and weaknesses of current governance strategies and partnership approaches? As usual, there is a difference between governments in running its business, as the respective heads of governments pursue different agendas. Unlike in developed countries, decentralisation and local government is not in all developing countries enshrined in legal binding documents or defended in its entirety (with different shades of how it is realised). Even if a vision exists of how to realise e.g. decentralisation (often prepared with the support of western countries), it is not ensured that this vision is internalised by the relevant institutions in the developing country, especially in young democracies. As it has been said also in your document, it is important to support the democratic way as chosen by the respective country. To adopt e.g. the British system in an African context can block or even be harmful to the progress of democratisation than promoting it and causes frequently conflicts within the legal framework and its interpretation. Countries with a young democracy have to learn that different stakeholders have and do work into the same direction – the development of their country. As a first step the realisation of trust based on issues and not personalities is needed. Institutions which balance individual political interests (which can result in frequent changes of positions) have to be strengthened to develop and promote a shared vision. 2. How can the dialogue on governance be improved? Enforcement of existing structures like the African Peer Review Mechanism is a first step. Considering size, background and differences between countries in Africa, regional institutions like Southern African Development Community (SADC) or East African Community (EAC) need to be strengthened in their role of promoting good governance. In the case of decentralisation, dialogue has to be based on trust between central and local government. Both partners need to understand the usefulness and even dependency of each stakeholder on the other one in realising the own goals (e.g. effective service delivery, developing of the national economy). As such activities have to ensure the inclusion of all stakeholders in realising the respective target. The EU should promote the implementation of activities and their management at the local level with central level (i.e. ministries) just to provide technical backstopping. Central Government needs to be an enabler instead of an implementer. 3. How to strengthen the primary responsibility of Africa in promoting governance? The EU should strictly look at constitutionalism. Subsequent governments may neglect or disregard the provisions of the constitution aiming at short term political advantages, but the constitution will eventually prevail. The AU and the regional institutions should use their available tools to enforce sanctions on faulting governments within their mandate. The population in the form of local communities has to be involved far more to realise a bottom up ownership of democracy and decentralisation, which is the only way to assist in enshrining democratic values in the cooperating countries. 4. How can the effectiveness of EU governance support be enhanced? The EU should not concentrate on cooperating with central governments but work also on a larger scale with other institutions and organisations, i.e. local government associations, national NGO (networks) taking over watchdog functions. Processes of EU are highly centralistic and/or bureaucratic, de facto excluding a wider participation of typical Non-State Actors, as existing in many African countries. Changing this approach would entail a higher input of the EU into country programmes but also ensuring a greater impact in assisting African societies to transform in democratic ones. 6. How can mutual accountability be promoted? Accountability will in my view not be finally realised without the education of the population resulting in internalising and living democratic values. Strong, locally existing watchdogs in the form of CBO’s, NGO’s… are needed to ensure the adherence of leadership to the agreed principles. 33. Frederic Ceuppens - June 20, 2007 EDUCATION AS A GOVERNANCE TOOL? Hello, In his comment, Stephan Gedenk says that “Accountability will in my view not be finally realised without the education of the population resulting in internalising and living democratic values.” As a consequence, should EC aid be focused on sectors like education, non state actors capacity building… rather than on sectors like infrastructure? More generally, the question could be: will education lead Africa to economic growth or will support to economic growth lead Africa to education? 34. Kehinde Adeloye,Augsburg-Germany - June 24, 2007 The major factor on the top surface of Africa is to fight against “Illetracy” in Africa completely Though averagely,30-40 % are somehow educated,30% are semi illetrate while rest are totally illetrates Before any thing could be successfully achieved in Africa and among the Africans,first of all Europe should shuold convince and educate most of the African leaders to please compel school education and to introduce also what Fundermental human Right is by teaching it as from Elementary schools upwards As from age of 18 years each child (Boys) to have Military training,to learn discipline because of which later the achievement of this discipline would go round each family like the system been practised here in Europe. Most African leadedrs are from Military sector and use use the military power to depress most of the civilians not having the disciplinary system of military Without this introduction of compulsory of school education including knowledge of Fundermental human Right education at school and a good discipline like here in Europe,it would still be difficult for Afriucan to fight against Corruption and to have a total peace in Africa Introduction of highlit “Technology” of different catigories in Africa to be able to go further in their modern civilisation life as such this would reduce the unnecessary economic problems in Europe among the European citizens This introduction of Technology in Africa,would also increase the sales of market and will boom the economic in Europe The system of introduction of Free Medical treatment like in Europe (Germany) would also help Africa with the system of monthly contribution from their salary is possible.We can discuss about how to go about it later.In this way the toll d my e-mail :kagerm@yahoo.com 35. Frederic Ceuppens - June 25, 2007 For a background document on the current EC approach towards supporting governance, see the editorial of the EU-Africa e-alert nbr 2, at : http://www.ecdpm.org//Web_ECDPM/Web/Content/Download.nsf/0/2B93B97F189E48E0C |
