How does the nature of African governments limit development?

Politics of Development in Africa

Issues

• Political instability

• Domestic policies

• Poor governance

• Kleptocracy and corruption

Political instability

• In recent history many African countries have experienced drastic political changes

• From 1954-2005 there were 186 military coups and 15 African presidents were assassinated

What is a military coup?

• A military coup, or coup d’etat, is when the military uses force to get rid of the government

• Often, the military go on to take control of the country, leading to a military regime

• Political Situation in the Central African Republic since Independence

– 1960-1962 Restricted Democratic Practice– 1962-1966 One Party State (MESAN)– 1966-1976 Military Regime & One Party State – 1976-1979 One Party State (MESAN)– 1979-1980 Transitional Period– 1980-1981 One Party State (UDC)– 1981         Restricted Democratic Practice– 1981-1987 Military Regime– 1987-1991 One Party State (RDC)– 1991-1993 Multiparty Transition– 1993-2003 Democracy– 2003-2005 Military Regime– 2005-        Democracy

Political instability hinders development

• Why?– Leaders focus on simply holding onto power– Expensive projects which would lead to long

term development (e.g. developing roads, telecommunications, health and education) are neglected

However…

• Stable government is not always good for development– Robert Mugabe has

been president of Zimbabwe since 1980 but the country is experiencing major problems

Domestic policies

• Many African governments are poor at creating and implementing policies for development– Many spend more on military than on

essential services • E.g. Eritrea spend 19% of GDP on

military but only 4% on education)– Tariffs and minimum prices which

prevent them increasing their share of international trade

• Cotton trade has frozen in Malawi due to high minimum prices imposed by the government

Eritrea

Life Expectancy: 53.73 male, 58.71 female

Infant mortality: 44.34 deaths/1000 live births

Where is Eritrea?

Poor governance

• This is a factor in a lot of Africa’s problems• Features of bad governments:

– ‘amateur’ politicians in place who got their jobs through nepotism and/or military coups

• 32 African countries experienced military rule during the 20th century – soldiers are not trained politicians

– Police cannot be trusted– Taxes are not collected effectively– Government cannot be counted on to deliver key

services– Human rights are abused

Kleptocracy

• Many African states are kleptocracies– A kleptocracy is a system in which leaders

use their power to benefit themselves

• Those who go along with the system get to share the rewards, while those who speak out suffer

How big is the problem?

• Of course, not all African politicians are corrupt

• However, late Nigerian Dictator Sani Abacha stole between $1 billion and $3 billion in the space of 5 years

• All this corruption diverts money away from aid projects and essential services

Addicted to aid

Remember…

• not all governments are inept and corrupt – there are many examples of good governance in Africa

• Ghana and Botswana are seen as solid democracies

Ghana: Supporters campaign for John Atta Mills, who went on to win the 2008 presidential election

Case studyUganda: The Poverty Eradication Action Plan

• Aim: to reduce poverty• Features:

– modernisation of agriculture– expansion and diversification of exports– reducing corruption– improving electric power supplies

• Successes: 6% economic growth rate• Challenges: many Ugandans feel that they are

becoming poorer while a small group are getting the benefits