On the occasion of the High-Level Meeting on Africa’s Development Needs: State of Implementation of Various Commitments, Challenges and the Way Forward held at the United Nations Headquarters, the IPU co-sponsored a side event on 22 September entitled The Governance Challenge in Africa. Focusing on issues related to democratic governance and new initiatives in this field, as well as on equality, opportunity and the rule of law, the panel discussion brought together an impressive group of presenters and discussants for a very lively, open and substantive debate.
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Dr. James Jonah, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, spoke on the subject of governance and leadership, stressing the importance of responsible leaders and addressing the supply side of corruption. Although he seemed disheartened by the current political scene, he challenged Africa’s leaders to demonstrate that positive change driven from within the continent is possible.
Dr. Ken Lipenga, Member of Parliament and Minister of Economic Planning and Development of Malawi, spoke on the issue of Democratic governance: State and non-State capacity. Democratic governance, he said, is accountability to the citizens. He was pleased to report that “exciting things are happening: the people of Africa are speaking today, to other people and to the government, through the media.” While the citizens are holding their politicians to account, the politicians are also warming to the idea of responsiveness to their constituents. Regarding non-State capacity, he reported that civil society is assuming a growing role; he also cited the importance of the private sector.
The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is an innovative governance initiative implemented by twenty-nine African countries, as of July 2008, for self-monitoring on all aspects of good governance, human rights and macroeconomic policies, among other things, in a transparent and unique way. Ms. Marie Angelique Savané, a member of the APRM Panel, spoke about the importance of learning how to implement initiatives such as the APRM. Although there are challenges to implementation due to the slow pace of the process and inadequate capacities, the panellists recognized the overall success of the initiative and concluded that political dialogue plays a key role in Africa.
In his closing statement, IPU Secretary General Anders Johnsson offered a parliamentary perspective. Stating that he was heartened by the African success stories, he underscored the importance of women’s participation in politics and decision-making, and particularly, women in parliament. He congratulated Rwanda for being the first country in the world to have voted in the highest number of women parliamentarians in the recently concluded elections. At present, women account for 56 per cent of the Rwandan Parliament.
