ARTICLE: Episode #64 Season 3, Ep.20: “Influencing decision-making at the top in East Africa has to do with compromises among elites” – Governance Expert

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.”

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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

COMING UP!>>Episode #64 (Season 3; Ep.20): Afro-Democracy(3): #UgandaDecided; & Impact on Africa’s Peace & Security

Episode #64

(Season 3; Ep.20):  

Afro-Democracy(3): #UgandaDecided; & Impact on Africa’s Peace & Security

As we head down the end of Season 3 of the show, we want to use another edition to continue the conversation on “AfroDemocracy”.

In the first edition of the year, on 13 January, we concluded the show on the note that Ghanaians must take advantage of the already-enlarged civil society space to help deepen its democracy.

The second show in the series on AfroDemocracy, on 10 February, accentuated the role of citizens in the conversation on governance and democracy, by concluding that any conversation on governance in Africa needs to acknowledge the role of citizens as “movers and shakers of the demands of good governance and accountability.”

In the last show of the month and on this theme for Season 3, we want to review the Ugandan election and explore what its impact on continental peace and security – if any – is. The shutting down of social media networks on Election Day was unexpected: even if there were fears of another win by Museveni, he seemed to have ticked all the boxes: two Presidential debates, with him appearing in the second. The process up to Election Day offered a semblance of a process typical in any democracy. Then it suddenly changed with the arrest of key opponent Dr.Besigywe hours before the election for what appeared to be a minor offence.

What elements do we need to begin to put in place to avoid outcomes like Uganda’s or is it culture-specific? Maybe region-specific? Where must the conversation on AfroDemocracy, where African citizens rights and voices are respected, go in 2016?

Join us if you can at 2.05pm on 3 March, 2015.

Call us on the following numbers

+233(0)289.000.931

Guiding questions

• Was Museveni’s success a result of youth apathy to vote; or lack of strategy by opposition?
• What lessons does his win offer for future elections on the continent?
• Does his win reflect an unholy alliance within East Africa’s politicians?
• Does East Africa have Shared Norms & Values on Governance?
• What is impact of Museveni’s win on Africa’s conversation on peace & security?

Guest in the studio:

Ø  Mark Amaliya , Director of Research & Programmes, Mutatio Institute

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more details will be available soon on www.africainfocusradioshow.org ; africainfocusshow.blogspot.com. Follow the conversations on #AfricainFocus on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/africainfocus14. Tweet Emmanuel ahead of time on www.twitter.com/ekbensah, using #africainfocus .

Call Radio XYZ93.1FM on 0289.000.931 / 0289.931.000.

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“Citizens are primarily responsible to act as movers and shakers of the demands of good governance and accountability” – Governance Expert

Episode #61:

“Citizens are primarily responsible to act as movers and shakers of the demands of good governance and accountability” – Governance Expert

AFRICA IN FOCUS SHOW

ACCRA, Ghana – Director of Research at the Accra-based Mutatio Institute Marc Amaliya believes that African countries “have gone past that era where we can outsource responsibility or cry victim. We govern ourselves now, and we misrule ourselves also.” 

Speaking to E.K.Bensah on the “Africa in Focus Show”, which reprised the issue of governance in the context of Africa’s democracy, Amaliya said that, one of the difficulties in the conversation on governance in Africa “is the collective cross-comparative way of assessing situations.”

He believes that doesn’t help, because “African countries are at different stages of their economic, political, and even social integration.” He continues: “we still have immensely ethnically-divided societies that constitute States in Africa and we have countries with enormous economic resource-potential, and they are completely aloof when it comes to getting the political systems right.”

Conversely, “we have countries that seem to be at a certain equilibrium”, like Ghana, but “is completely helpless when it comes to doing things all by ourselves. We still need to be policed.” What this tells us, he avers, is that apart from talking about good governance and what it stands for, “countries are at different stages in their lives and they need assistance.”

Pressed by Bensah to explain why countries like Uganda; Rwanda; and Togo are economies on the rise, and delivering results, why can one not say that there is governance, even with “the paucity of institutions that exist?” To this, Amaliya explained “I do not know of anyone who out rightly dismisses the existence of governance, but the reason why there is a need to qualify governance...is because there is such a thing as bad governance.” Even failed States, he quipped, have some type of governance.

He added “whether it is Faure...or Kagame...or Museveni, in their individual stead, these people can claim to a certain sense of legitimacy, a certain source of authority from the people to govern that they remain popular and that they represent the wills of their people.” However, “there are constituencies that would object to that” – to the extent that “they would be pointing to serious shortcomings in their rule.

 Amaliya emphasized that, in the long run, any conversation on governance in Africa, especially, needs to acknowledge the role of citizens: “we as citizens are primarily responsible to act as movers and shakers of the demands of good governance and accountability, and that seems to be the real gateway to where many countries are heading. There is an appetite and an irresolute interest in citizens to demand this”.

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The “Africa in Focus” Show is hosted by Emmanuel.K.Bensah Jr from 14h00 to 15h00 every Wednesday. You can download all podcasts from www.africainfocusradioshow.org . Follow the conversation on twitter on @africainfocus14 , using #africainfocus

COMING UP!>>Episode #61: Afro-Democracy(3): What’s Governance got to do with Democracy?

Episode #61:

Afro-Democracy(3): What’s Governance got to do with Democracy?

The third in our series, and the second this year, examining aspects of “Afro-Democracy”, we want to use this edition of the show to unpack the conversation on governance within the context of what seems to be democracy with a peculiar type of African-ness, which manifests itself in variations of a hybrid of ballot-box democracy and extended term limits.

Although it is a given that governance should be central to democracy, Africa’s different forms of popular representation all over the continent already suggest there should be an increased conversation on governance itself as well.

One definition of governance is “the processes of interaction and decision-making among…actors involved in a collective problem that lead to the creation, reinforcement, or reproduction of social norms and institutions”. If Presidents and Heads of State are the actors in this definition, then the story is not over as the “collective problem” still needs to be resolved.

If democracy alone is unable to resolve this problem that the “actors” (elected Heads of State) are involved in, surely we must further-unpack what governance means for Africa?

To help Emmanuel.K.Bensah demystify governance on the Show will be Marc Amaliya, who has spent much of his time examining governance and effective policy-making.

Call us on the following numbers:

+233(0)289.000.931 // +233(0)302.777.472-3

Guiding questions

·        Is there a type of democracy peculiar and specific to Africa?

·        How central is governance in the security discussion?

·        Has terrorism overshadowed our attempts at deepening democracy?

Guest in the studio:

Ø Marc Amaliya, Director of Research & Programmes, Mutatio Institute; Researcher in African Peace & Security