Interesting perspectives from a friend in the Gambia... --------------------------------------------------------------- (Qua Vadis Africa) No more Executive Presidents in Africa Dr Lenrie Peters (FRCS, FWACS, FLCS) Undoubtedly, one of the burning problems of post independence in Africa has been the negligible impact of “Good Governance”. Quite apart from the moral decay of some of the caricatures who have alighted in the political stage, there had been, over the decades, a dearth of fine tuning that delicate balance between the responsibility of the Executive to the Legislative and the Judiciary, and of all three to the people they govern. Traditional African rule, notwithstanding the consultations and Bantaba discussion, has in essence been the rule of autocratic democracy. Tautology? The chief might the Chief by the will of his people, but invariably that will has been usurped. It is no accident that the myths of super human beings have been portrayed as gigantically fearsome and devilish. Africans crave the magnetic throttle of power, satanic, even ruthlessness. And augmenting the disadvantage of the phenomenon of the great all powerful, all knowing leader is the concept of religion,which addresses that power and authority are dispensed from above. God on high manipulates humble mortals via angel spirits, ancestors, leaders, and elders down to the generality of ordinary people. This artifice well suited the colonialists when they arrived to find that the king or leader was the individual to deal with, and opposed to a multitude of factions. To subdue the people the invaders only had to highjack the leadership both morally and financially - dividing and ruling. Indeed many of the ills of democracy at work derive from the policies at least in British Colonies, of dividing the territories of West Africa into Colonies and Protectorates. Access to power was cultivated among the former at the expense of the latter, while at independence, the process was reversed overnight, leading to a plethora of untutored and ill-prepared leadership obfuscating the political scene. Yet despite the mistake and tragedies, near calamities that have beset the continents, there is now hope of resolution. Tabo Mbeki has called it a renaissance, but perhaps the change need not be so fundamental. I would borrow from the language of space exploration the word docking. Africa is poised to rotate into position with world politics and economies and to the environment of global stability. For the balance of Orb Earth depends on the equilibrium of its greater segments. But there are still huge hurdles to overcome before that equipoise is concluded. There must evolve a change of mental attitude, a vision of continuous, sustained and composed survival. A tension of achievement such as we now witness between soccer and athletic teams. Recognition that every individual has the token for sublime blossoming. Thus might we rid ourselves of the greed and ATAVISM of the Taylors and Chelubas, and allow the people to repossess their crucial powers without fear of the bullet. And yet perhaps as we see complex scientific problems, submitting to the simplest of solution, as the marvels of the micro chip from the platitude of common sand, the solution to the African problems may be nearer at hand than we imagine. If we look at the participatory democracies of Europe, India, Turkey and others around the world, we find at the top an elected Ceremonial President who embodies all the nation of sovereignty, dignity and tolerance, with a finite term of office. Next an Executive prime minister nominated according to the system of elections, and answerable both to the President and the Legislature. No more executive president for Africa. Please such a system would also neutralise the military in terms of political ambitions, and strengthen the restorative powers of the Legislature. At independence, Africa rebounded with too much fury against their former Colonial Masters to want to adopt their proven political systems. They adopted instead the cocktail of the Parliamentary and the American system without setting in place the requisite checks and balances to obviate abuse. The earth is moving very fast and cybernetics by quantum leaps. Africans should review their past and take cogent decisions for their future NOW. It is certain that by the way we see and govern ourselves we shall harness a brighter future for generations yet to come. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------