Episode #64
Season 3, Ep.20:
“Influencing decision-making at the top in East Africa has to do
with compromises among elites” – Governance Expert
AFRICA IN FOCUS SHOW
ACCRA, Ghana – Governance
Expert, Mark Amaliya, believes “the elections [that have] taken place in
Uganda...is an example of how not to
conduct elections.”
Speaking to
E.K.Bensah Jr on the “Africa in Focus Show”, which reprised AfroDemocracy for
the last time in Season 3, Amaliya adds that, the take-away for Ghana is that “there
are certain basic freedoms that we take for granted – the liberal media waves
that we have; the dearth of critical reflections that go on in platforms such
as social media; the alternative mindsets and perspectives that groups and
individuals who are willing to discuss issues of the nation bring to bear –
inform how we approach and hold our leaders accountable.”
He believes these
are the things “we must guard jealously, because these have now proven, as in
the case of Uganda, to be real constraints for rulers.” He feels were these
freedoms to be raised as a national security concern, “then it means that
countries that have the opportunity and citizens that have the
opportunity...should use these platforms for the right purposes, while
remembering the potential of these platforms exerting influence on
governments.”
In Amaliya’s
view, “it is significant to understand” that the Ugandan election “was not just
an election, but a contest against the status
quo.” He avers it was difficult to imagine change “without strong
resistance.”
Quizzed by
Bensah as to whether it was not expected that Museveni would win – for the mere
fact he had been in power for so long – Amaliya tried to situate his response
in the context of the region, by explaining that, East Africa is a region where
good governance is “unique” in these sense that, apart from the fragile states,
such as Somalia, that are part of the region, one even has countries, such as
Kenya, which legitimacy was tested back in 2007; Rwanda’s Kagame who is a “known,
historical ally of Museveni”. In short: powerful states, such as Kenya and
Rwanda that have all helped shape the uniqueness of the region, and probably
negated any decision for them to condemn the elections in Uganda!
Worrying for
Amaliya is his view that “East Africa still has to deal a lot with questions
regarding how the political will in the region – the gap between elite rulers
and legitimate concerns of citizens in those countries. The fact that
influencing decision-making at the top in East Africa – considerably has to do
with compromises among the elites.” He laments how the fact that “independent-minded
bodies like the UN, and even the African Union, would really only have to come
second and third-place to these elite networks raises very serious concerns
about democracy in East Africa.”
ENDs
------
The “Africa in
Focus” Show is hosted by Emmanuel.K.Bensah Jr from 14h05 to 15h00 every
Wednesday. You can download all podcasts from www.africainfocusradioshow.org
. Follow the conversation on twitter on @africainfocus14 , using #africainfocus
No comments:
Post a Comment