By Kim Heller
The gold-plated crown of democracy in Africa has fast lost its sparkle. It is not a pretty sight.
Catastrophic conflicts are collapsing Sudan and the DRC. In Kenya, the spectrum of dissatisfaction with the government continues to threaten the nation's heartbeat. And this week, post-election protests in Mozambique claimed at least eleven lives.
In some countries in Africa, democratic Constitutions have been disrespected and defaced by power-hungry leaders who refuse to relinquish their thrones. In other parts of the Continent, self-crowned leaders of military coups have become the new shine of Africa. Seven African governments have tumbled through military coups in the past four years.
The rule book no longer matters in the game of democracy in Africa. Perhaps it never did, for the game was not of Africa’s making.
The ever-popular wager of world monopoly is still very much in play, and Africa remains a highly prized property. As foreign powers feed off the sweet nectar of the Continent’s succulence, Africa and Africans are left parched in the desperate paucity that is the aftershock of centuries of colonial conquest and rapaciousness.
The African palace of democracy is a sorry pretence. Democracy has offered little or no fortress against the endemic poverty and conflict heralded in by colonial conquest, nor has it afforded the assortment of human rights and freedoms one associates with democracy.
The global game of power and influence continues. While the finger pointing at foreign influence may be less visible than in colonial days, it is very much part of the continent’s contemporary neo-liberal calligraphy.
Upgraded and re-purposed, and often working hand in hand with Africa’s ‘white glove’ governments, foreign forces are responsible for much of the wrangles, woes and wreck of Africa.
In January 2024, SB Morgen (SBM), an African-focused intelligence consulting firm reported that “as of mid-2023, there are active foreign military bases in 22 countries on the continent, with Russia having another five in the works”.
SBM argues that as more foreign military formations enter Africa it “appears to be reverting to the immediate post-colonial period, where it was a geopolitical hotspot”.
As foreign powers position themselves to gain economic and security advantage in Africa, African nations become places of dire insecurity and this in turn threatens government capacity and budget, and by extension good governance. For as long as country insecurity and governance shortfalls continue to prevail, democracy cannot flourish.
While foreign powers compete for geopolitical advantage, and for the treasure trove of Africa’s natural resources, the Continent itself is plunged into an abyss of bottomless distress, instability and conflict. Little more than pawns in the global gambit for power, many African leaders have submitted to the fancies and influences of foreign forces.
Research from Afrobarometer suggests that while the majority of people in Africa claim that they want to live in a democracy, they appear disappointed by what democracy has actually delivered. Access to basic services is low, in many nations in Africa. It is estimated that there are close to four hundred million people in Africa who have no access to clean drinking water.
The recently released Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) revealed that for over 70% of people living in Africa, democracy, safety and security, have deteriorated since 2014. While some countries (33) had improved in terms of governance, for 21 countries there has been a sharp decline.
The founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Mo Ibrahim stated that he was deeply concerned about the heavy burden of Africa’s debt repayments and how this weighs heavily on governments’ abilities to build much-needed infrastructure and provide critical and essential services to its citizens. He said, “It is circular….when you don’t have enough money to build infrastructure, to deal with health and education, you start to lose control and that affects security”. Ibrahim spoke of the need to cut this vicious circle so that people can invest in the future.
The Institute of Security Studies has reported how many African states, especially in the Sahel region don’t have total control over their territory, making them vulnerable to armed insurgencies. The continuing instability, insurgency and interference have placed considerable strain on prospects for economic development and prosperity, effectively rendering democracy ineffective in many countries. Government spending on social welfare and public infrastructure projects is severely hampered under such conditions.
According to the Institute of Security Studies, there has been an “over-investment in defence and security”, and a neglect of the “functions of the state that bind citizens to the nation through service delivery”.
Democracy without development is a hollow victory. Any form of democracy that fails to deliver sustainable development for all, is a game of others. The inaugural African Peace and Security Dialogue, held on 4 October 2024, under the auspices of the Thabo Mbeki Foundation, focussed on African solutions to the challenges of insecurity and conflict on the Continent.
The Chairperson of the Foundation, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi spoke of how the failure to extend the “democratic dividend” to the masses has resulted in instability and violence. She also spoke of how the escalation of conflict is a sign of the African Union’s ineptitude. In her keynote address at the Dialogue, the Vice Principal of London’s King's College, Professor Funmi Olonisakin spoke of the “ready embrace of external, handed-down ideas” by Africans as “superior to its home-grown ideas and agenda”.
She queried why Africa often implements external agendas without question or adaptation, especially at a time when the liberal world order “based on the assumptions that liberal democratic norms, institutions and a rules-based system, offer the best solutions to global challenges, from globalisation to terrorism or public health” is currently under scrutiny.
Perhaps it is time for a new rule book for democracy. One which favours the game of Africa as a new kingmaker rather than an old pawn.
Kim Heller Political analyst and author of No White Lies: Black Politics and White Power in South Africa.
IOL