Pretoria, South Africa - An African scholar has questioned electoral and governance systems in some African countries. John Forje from Centre for Action-Oriented Research on African Development in Cameroon who spoke at a Conference on African Renaissance, Integration, Unity and Development in South Africa, said recent developments in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Cote d'Ivoire Ivory Coast were indications of an electoral and governance system failure to deliver comprehensive governance and social framework able to stand the test of time and deliver quality services to the people.

He said the will of the people had failed to prevail in most African countries and that the votes of the citizens through a malfunctioning electoral system were not respected, while their fundamental human rights were constantly violated.

“These developments culminate into a state of apathy, loss of trust and confidence in the governance system,” Mr Forje said in a paper presented on Friday entitled, “The Challenges of Democracy and Good Governance: Why is Africa stuck on the Runway?"

He added: “What Africa needs is strong institutions and not strong individuals. In this regard, constitution and constitutionalism in Africa need to be strengthened. Civil society has to be vibrant and proactive. Civilian control of the security apparatus of the state and peaceful constitutional transfer of power needs to be promoted, encouraged and consolidated.”

Currently, he said, Africa was stuck on the runway of development continuum needing effective visionary servant leadership, social justice, inclusion and benefit-sharing for proper and smooth take-off. For now, he noted, democratic governance and development faced several impediments.

He said constructive changes involved proper in-depth reasoning; and politically active citizens may draw the conclusion that the nation-state was unable to fuel the train of progress.

“From these perspectives, reason leads actors to entertain transitional supranational political formulas to solve their problems. Can the 'Arab Spring' be interpreted within this context? Did the people perceive their line of action within this context, feeling cheated, marginalised and excluded?  Is Africa South of the Sahara yet to spring its own political surprises that best narrow the visible gap between the governed and governors?”

He said equitable benefit-sharing became a problem and source for contention jeopardising the structure and functioning of the state.

“Fostering democratic governance since independence becomes imperative. Country demand for support to democratic governance has been one of the fastest growing areas for development cooperation,” Forge said.

He added that inputs from the international community were vital in assisting transitional polities in developing national capacity on consolidating state structures and output functions.

Building strong institutions and political processes, such as conducting clean, transparent, fair and free election, were critical in ensuring and consolidating the governance system, Forge stated.

He said democracy was much more than electing leaders periodically through competitive elections. It was about the acceptance of a culture that institutionalised certain basic freedoms, rights and liberties.

The two-day Conference on African Renaissance, Integration, Unity and Development ended Friday in Pretoria, South Africa.

Pana 01/10/2011