ST/ESA/PAD/SER.E/64

Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Division for Public Economics and Public Administration

Governance in Africa:Governance in Africa:Consolidating theConsolidating theInstitutional FoundationsInstitutional Foundations

United Nations • New York, 1999

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Notes

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication donot imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of theUnited Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or ofits authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The designations “developed” and “developing” economies are intended for statisticalconvenience and do not necessarily imply a judgement about the stage reached by aparticular country or area in the development process.

The term “country” as used in the text of this publication also refers, as appropriate, toterritories or areas.

The term “dollar” normally refers to the United States dollar ($).

The views expressed are those of the individual authors and do not imply anyexpression of opinion on the part of the United Nations.

Enquiries concerning this publication may be directed to:

Mr. Guido BertucciDirector

Division for Public Economics and Public AdministrationDepartment of Economic and Social AffairsUnited Nations, New York, NY 10017, USA

Fax: (212) 963-9681

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Please note that the publications on Public Administration and Development nowappear under the symbol ST/ESA/PAD/SER.E/.... This is a continuation of the seriesof publications formerly issued under the symbol ST/TCD/SER.E/....

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FOREWORD

It is expected that efforts to consolidate governanceinstitutions throughout Africa will be rewarded bythe fruits of social stability and economic well-being. While remarkable strides have been made insome circumstances, substantial gaps persist incountries which are still grappling with the issuesof civil strife, political instability and poverty.Many of these gaps can be attributed to thecontinued existence of fragile political, social andeconomic institutions. Strong and dependableinstitutions provide frameworks within whichpeople can work jointly towards positive commonfutures. Strong institutional frameworks in socialand economic governance will provide the enablingenvironment for development when they can ensureforesight, strategies and implementation follow-through to meet the challenges of diverse regionalsituations and a turbulent global economy. Theseframeworks extend beyond the civic society fabricand the legal basis to include institutions, such ascreative think tanks, strong operational ministries,robust court and police systems and livelycommunity and civil society processes.

Through increased capacity-building and manage-ment improvement, both the State and privatesectors, as well as civil society institutions, cangain the respect and trust of the people. Nationalinstitutions, such as the constitution, the parlia-ment, the judiciary, the public service and localgovernments, can be strengthened and, whereappropriate, their actions can be coordinated. Theirproducts and services can be surveyed andimproved. Their processes can be made morerelevant, transparent and accountable. The varioussectors can be linked and coordinated for maxi-mum growth and dynamism. This strong nationalinstitutional framework represents a consolidationof the foundations for good governance in Africa.

In 1990, for example, the Addis Ababa Declara-tion by African Heads of State and Governments

called for an acceleration of the democraticprocess, for which the national institutionalframework can be, at best, well grounded, catalyticand sustainable. Within the United Nations systemand the global community, a series of recentactivities have highlighted the importance ofgovernance issues in Africa.

In June 1995, the Organization of African Unity(OAU) adopted the Cairo Agenda for Action,designed to relaunch Africa’s economic and socialdevelopment. The OAU members recognized that“democracy, good governance, peace, security,stability and justice are among the most essentialfactors in African socioeconomic development”,and committed themselves to “ensure the speedypromotion of good governance, characterized byaccountability, probity, transparency, equal appli-cation of the rule of law and a clear separation ofpowers, as an objective and a condition for rapidand sustainable development in African society.”

In March 1996, the Secretary-General of theUnited Nations launched the United Nationssystemwide Special Initiative for Africa, as theoperational arm of the United Nations NewAgenda for the Development of Africa in the1990s. As part of this special initiative, a focusedsubprogramme emerged, entitled the SpecialInitiative on Governance in Africa, which recog-nized that sound institutions and a productiveinterface with civil society provide a solid foun-dation for transparent, responsible and effectivegovernance.

In April 1996, the resumed 50th session of theUnited Nations General Assembly on PublicAdministration and Development, the first GeneralAssembly session in United Nations historyfocusing on the role of public administration anddevelopment, issued resolution 50/225, whichreaffirmed that “transparent and accountablegovernance and administration in all sectors of

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society are indispensable foundations fordevelopment.”

In July 1997, the First African Forum on Gover-nance, held in Addis Ababa, organized by theUnited Nations Development Programme’sRegional Bureau for Africa and the United NationsEconomic Commission for Africa, broughttogether a select number of African governments toreview their national governance programmes. TheGlobal Conference on Governance, organized bythe Management Development and GovernanceDivision of the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme, in cooperation with the UnitedNations Department of Economic and SocialAffairs, provided a valuable platform for theexchange of international experiences in improvinggovernance practices.

Many international nongovernmental organizationshave also held dialogues on governance issues. TheGlobal Coalition for Africa provides a frameworkfor donor and recipient countries to discuss futuredirections of development assistance.

Achieving sustainable human development andeconomic growth requires initiatives built on: (1)firm institutional foundations; (2) a commitment ofall actors to principles that will facilitate thejudicious exercise of power; (3) adherence toprofessionalism and ethical behaviour in publicservice; and (4) an active and responsible civilsociety interacting with state institutionsconstructively.

Contributing to this dialogue, the United NationsDepartment of Economic and Social Affairs andthe United Nations Economic Commission forAfrica jointly organized the “Conference on Gover-nance in Africa: Consolidating the InstitutionalFoundations.” The Conference made recommenda-tions on how to strengthen governing institutionsand maintain a dynamic balance between them inorder to create an appropriate foundation for goodgovernance. To this end, the conference delibera-tions addressed the following thematic areas:

• How can the State strengthen the “rule of law”and the relationships among state powers andinstitutions, including legislative, executive andjudiciary?

• How to nurture a functional and mutuallybeneficial relationship between citizens andstate institutions? and

• How to enhance the public service in its role tofacilitate economic and social development?

The Conference was divided into two parts. Thefirst two days were devoted to a roundtable of emi-nent persons drawn from within and outside Africawith relevant experience in societal and governancetransformation. An additional 75 other distin-guished conference participants, representing stateinstitutions, local governments, non-governmentalorganizations, academicians, women's organiza-tions, professional associations and the press,attended the roundtable as observers, and thencontinued their discussion during the three-dayworkshop that followed, focusing on elaboratingthe strategies suggested by the roundtableparticipants. A number of multilateral and bilateralorganizations also attended the workshop asobservers and cosponsors.

After an initial plenary discussion, the workshopparticipants divided into three working groups:

• Modalities for strengthening the rule of law andinterrelations between key governanceinstitutions (legislative, executive, andjudiciary); place and role of the constitution;and legal and legislative framework;

• The role of the public service; and

• Configurations of the public service/civilsociety interface, including building “socialcapital.”

This report includes the main points raised at theConference.

Guido BertucciDirectorDivision for Public Economics and Public

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Administration Department of Economic and Social Affairs

CONTENTS

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

Message of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan . . . . . 1

Keynote Address by Dr. Julius K. Nyerere, Former President of theUnited Republic of Tanzania and Chairman of the South Centre . . . . . . . . 3

Summary of the Conference Deliberations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Governance and Institutional Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12The Public Service and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16The Role of Civil Society in Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Key Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Annexes

Annex I. Opening Statement by Mr. K.Y. Amoako, Executive Secretaryof ECA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Annex II. Address by Mr. Guido Bertucci, Director, DPEPA/DESA, United Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Annex III. Address by Mr. Yasuhiro Hamada, Ambassador of Japan to Ethiopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Annex IV. Address by H.E. Mr. Woredewolde Wolde, Minister of Justice of Ethiopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Annex V. Address by Mr. Salim Ahmed Salim, Secretary-General, Organization of African Unity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Annex VI. List of Participants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

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Annex VII. Working Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

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MESSAGE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERALOF THE UNITED NATIONS

MR. KOFI ANNAN

It gives me great pleasure to convey a message tothis important gathering, which brings togetherrepresentatives of Governments, private sectorenterprises and civil society groups to discuss anissue of critical importance for African peace anddevelopment.

I would like to thank everyone involved for theircontributions: The Governments of Ethiopia andJapan; the Commonwealth Secretariat; HisExcellency Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere and theMwalimu Nyerere Foundation; and my UnitedNations colleagues in the Department of Economicand Social Affairs and the Economic Commissionfor Africa.

In my address to the Organization of African Unitylast year in Harare, I spoke of three waves ofmomentous change in modern Africa. The first, ofcourse, was the period of decolonization and thestruggle against apartheid. The second, in theimmediate post-colonial period, was marked all toooften by civil war, the tyranny of military rule andeconomic stagnation. A third wave, I said, wasnow in prospect: an era of democracy, humanrights and sustainable development.

But for the third wave to take hold, it must berooted in strong political, economic and socialinstitutions with a solid foundation. Africannations – individually and collectively, with thesupport of the United Nations and other partners –need to build the governance structures, systemsand frameworks so that Governments can do whattheir publics expect of them: facilitate economicgrowth; protect individual and group rights; andbalance the differing interests in a society.

We live in an era of rapid and profound trans-formation. One of the most positive changes ofrecent years has come in the relationship betweengovernment and the governed.

Governments are adapting to globalization, liberal-izing their economies and integrating themselvesinto the global marketplace. They are pursuingpolitical and economic reforms which can strainservices and entail considerable sacrifice.

Civil society, for its part, is an increasingly robustand important force, nationally and internationally.Indeed, the growth of civil society, and expandingpartnerships between Government, the businesscommunity and private investors, has helpednations boost their productivity and register gainsin other basic economic indicators. Civil societygroups have been instrumental in encouragingdemocratic transfers of power, and they haveaccelerated the movement towards participatorygovernance and organized activity by non-stateactors.

These changes are both welcome and necessary.The promise of equitable, sustainable developmentis predicated on transparent, accountablegovernance. Good governance and sustainabledevelopment are indivisible; the former providesthe foundation for the latter. That is why it is vitalfor the fundamental prerequisites of good gover-nance to be elaborated and refined.

In the days ahead you will explore the centralinstitutions of governance and ways of ensuringthat they function effectively, efficiently andjudiciously. These indispensable elements includethe constitutional framework and measures neededto safeguard the rule of law; the role of civilsociety and how to enhance its capacity to interactwith government; and, finally, the public serviceand the need to build sound relationships with thepolitical leadership and civil society.

It is my sincere hope that this Roundtable andWorkshop will produce a fruitful exchange ofviews and lessons, and lead to innovative ideas on

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how to consolidate the institutional foundations forgood and effective governance in Africa. TheUnited Nations system stands ready to continue

working with you to propel the continent forward.In that spirit, please accept my best wishes for thesuccess of your deliberations.

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KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY DR. JULIUS K. NYEREREFORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

AND CHAIRMAN OF THE SOUTH CENTRE

A few years ago I attended a meeting of the GlobalCoalition for Africa in Harare, Zimbabwe. It waschaired by President Masire of Botswana andattended by a substantial number of African Headsof State. From outside Africa, it was attended bythe two cochairmen of the GCA, RobertMcNamara from the United States and Ian Pronkfrom the Netherlands, and a large number ofofficials from the donor community. At a certainpoint in the course of the discussion, the questionof good governance in Africa came up. But it cameup as a condition of giving aid to Africancountries. The manner of the discussion and thefact that this was an exchange between AfricanHeads of State and officials from wealthycountries were deeply disturbing.

It reminded me of the social history of GreatBritain before the advent of the welfare state. Theextremes of individual or family poverty withinthat country were dealt with through the philan-thropy of rich persons to whom such human miserywas unbearable. But their charity was given onlyto those they regarded as the “deserving poor.”This, in practice, meant that it was given only tothose people regarded by the philanthropist ashaving demonstrated an acceptance of the socialand economic status quo – and for as long as theydid so.

As the world’s powerful nations have not (as yet)accepted the principle of international welfare, theyapply the same ‘deserving poor’ notion to thereality of poverty outside their own countries.“Aid” and noncommercial credit are regarded notas springing from the principles of human rights orinternational solidarity, regardless of nationalborders, but as charity extended as a matter ofaltruism by richer governments to the less

developed and very poor nations. However, thequantity of this “official” charity beingincreasingly inadequate to meet the most obviousneeds, one of the criteria for a nation being classi-fied as among the world’s “deserving poor” cameto be having “good governance” as defined by thedonor community.

In practice, that phrase means that those countrieshave multiparty systems of democracy, economiesbased on the principle of private ownership andinternational free trade, and a good record ofhuman rights – again, as defined by the industri-alized market economy countries of the North. Itwas in this context that we in Africa first heardabout “good governance”; and this was the mannerin which it was brought up at the Harare meetingto which I have referred.

It was this aid-related discussion of goodgovernance, a matter between aid-givers and aid-seekers, and the arrogant and patronizing mannerin which it was raised by the aid-givers that discre-dited the whole subject in the eyes of many of us inAfrica and other parts of the South. When used inthis manner, good governance sounded like a toolfor neocolonialism. We have therefore tended todespise the concept even as, out of necessity, wetry to qualify under it.

I am very far from being alone in rejecting neo-colonialism, regardless of the methods adopted tobring it about, or to enforce it or to describe it! Yetwe cannot avoid the fact that many of ourproblems in Africa arise from bad governance. Ibelieve that we need to improve governanceeverywhere in Africa in order to enable our peopleto build real freedom and real development forthemselves and their countries. I allowed myself tobe persuaded to be a “convener” of this Conference

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on Governance in Africa because I believe that itprovides an opportunity for us to understand moreabout our past political and economic policymistakes and see how we can improve themanagement of our affairs as we grope towards theTwenty-first Century.

We have been provided with some excellent papersto help the Conference in its work, and I would liketo thank the authors and the organizers for them.Not only did they contribute to my own education,but they also make it unnecessary for me to domore than emphasize certain points which areelucidated in those papers.

Governments bear the final responsibility for thestate of the nation – its internal and external peace,and the well-being of its people. It is the distinctionbetween the words “government” and“governance” which draws attention to the realitythat, despite its enforcement agencies, government(in the sense of the executive authority) is not thesole determinant of whether those responsibilitiesare fulfilled. For there are always other forceswithin a country which, in practice, can help orhinder the effectiveness of a government, andwhich it therefore ignores at its peril. This point iswell made in a number of the papers which havebeen produced for this Conference.

Government is an instrument of the State. Todaythere is a call, emanating from the North, for theweakening of the State. In my view Africa shouldignore this call. Our States are so weak and anemicalready that it would almost amount to a crime toweaken them further. We have a duty to strengthenthe African States in almost every possible respect;one of the objectives of improving the governanceof our countries is to strengthen the African Statesand thus enable them to serve the people of Africabetter. One result of weakening the State can beobserved in Somalia. There are many potentialSomalias in Africa if we heed the Northern call toweaken the State. In any case, dieting and otherslimming exercises are appropriate for the opulentwho overeat, but very inappropriate for theemaciated and starving! Incidentally, the world haschanged indeed! The withering of the State used to

be the ultimate objective of good Marxists. Todaythe weakening of the State is the immediateobjective of free-marketeers!

In advocating a strong State I am not advocatingan overburdened State, nor one with a bloatedbureaucracy. To advocate a strong State is toadvocate one which, among other things, haspower to act on behalf of the people in accordancewith their wishes. And in a market economy, withits law of the jungle, we need a State that has thecapacity to intervene on behalf of the weak. NoState is really strong unless its government has thefull consent of at least the majority of its people;and it is difficult to envisage how that consent canbe obtained outside democracy. So a call for astrong State is not a call for dictatorship either.Indeed, all dictatorships are basically weakbecause the means they apply in governance makethem inherently unstable.

The key to a government’s effectiveness and itsability to lead the nation lies in a combination ofthree elements: first, its closeness to its people andits responsiveness to their needs and demands; inother words, democracy; secondly, its ability tocoordinate and bring into a democratic balance themany functional and often competing sectionalinstitutions which groups of people have created toserve their particular interests; and thirdly, theefficiency of the institutions (official and unoffi-cial) by means of which its decisions are madeknown and implemented throughout the country.

It goes without saying that all of the institutionsmust be rooted in and appropriate to the society towhich they are applied. The machinery throughwhich a government stays close to the people andthe people close to their government will differaccording to the history, the demographic distri-bution, the traditional culture (or cultures), and theprevailing international political and economicenvironment in which it has to operate. Democracymeans much more than voting on the basis of adultsuffrage every few years. It means, among otherthings, attitudes of tolerance and willingness tocooperate with others on terms of equality.

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An essential ingredient in democracy is that it isbased on the equality of all the people within anation’s boundary, and that all the laws of the landapply to all adults without exception. The nation’sconstitution must provide methods by which thepeople can, without recourse to violence, controlthe government which emerges in accordance withit and even specify the means for its ownamendment. In short, the constitution itself must bebased on the principles of the rule of law.

It is inevitably the government which is responsiblefor upholding the rule of law within the State.This, together with the making of laws, is one ofthe most important of its responsibilities to thepeople. But the government itself is subject to theconstitution. All heads of state swear to honourand protect the constitution. This is as it should be,for the constitution is the supreme law of the land.We cannot respect ordinary state laws if we do notrespect the constitution under which they werepromulgated. A scrupulous respect for theconstitution is the basis of the principle of the ruleof law.

It seems to me that some of us tend to forget thatlogic. Presidents, prime ministers and sometimesall members of a government seek to amend aconstitution in their own favour, even when theycome to office through and because of the provi-sions of a constitution which they have sworn tohonour.

Too often, for example, we have seen presidentsseeking to lengthen the number of terms they serve,despite the limit laid down in the constitution. Thispractice is wrong. It cheapens the constitution ofthe country concerned. If and when experienceshows that the restriction laid down in theconstitution is too restrictive and needs to bechanged, (which in my view should be very, veryrare), the change should not lengthen the term ofthe current officeholder, who is bound in honour toobserve the restriction under which he or she waselected in the first place. More importantly, thefirst president to be elected under a restricted termof office must never change the constitution tolengthen that term. If he or she does it, it is

difficult to see how subsequent presidents canhonour the new restriction. Furthermore, if theprovision of a limited term of office irks onepresident or prime minister, another provision ofthe constitution could irk another president orprime minister. We might then expect the con-stitution of the country to be changed after everygeneral election. This is a point which in my viewneeds much emphasis. No respect for the consti-tution leads to no basis for the rule of law.

About the nature of government machinery, asvitally important as that is to the maintenance (orestablishment) of peace, justice and the people’swell-being, I need say little. Several of the previ-ously circulated papers provide an excellent basisfor serious consideration of this topic and its mani-fold implications for good governance. However, Iwould like to emphasize one or two related points.

All the institutions and processes of democracy anddemocratic administration cost a great deal ofmoney to establish, maintain and operate. Thatapplies equally to official and spontaneous unoffi-cial institutions and to cooperation among them.Further, to be effective, all such structures relyheavily upon the existence of a politically con-scious civil society, which is active, organized andalert. Such a civil society will have a good under-standing about the existence and functions of thevarious institutions, and about both their powersand the constitutional limits to their power. Dicta-tors generally prefer an ignorant and passive ormalleable population. It is easier to manipulatesuch a population and parade the result as people’sparticipation.

Yet Africa is at present poverty-stricken. I am thefirst to admit that a country does not have to berich in order to be democratic. But a minimumamount of resources is needed in order to meetsome minimum requirements of good governance.In Africa today, even the high echelons of the civilservice receive salaries which are inadequate tokeep a family for a month, and the minimum wageis derisory. All salaries (especially of teachers andhealth workers) are frequently delayed. Nor havethe people in general been the beneficiaries at any

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time of a well-organized education system directedat enlarging public understanding of and activeparticipation in modern democratic institutions andprocesses.

Poverty is an enemy of good governance, andpersistent poverty is a destabilizer, especially ifsuch poverty is shared in a grossly unequal manneror is widely regarded as being unfairly distributed,as the few who are relatively rich indulge inconspicuous consumption. Known or suspectedcorruption among political leaders often makes theproblem worse, and corruption throughout thesociety more difficult to overcome. Good wages orsalaries will not stop bad people from beingcorrupt, but miserable wages and salaries are notconducive to rectitude. Political instability, real orimagined, can be a source of, and is often used asan excuse for, bad governance.

To say this is very different from saying thatbecause Africa is poor, Africans do not deservegood governance. This continent is not distin-guished for its good governance of the peoples ofAfrica and their affairs. Poverty may be a problem,and I believe that it is a problem, as we try toestablish the conditions for good governancethroughout Africa. But without good governance,we cannot eradicate poverty, for no corruptgovernment is interested in the eradication ofpoverty. On the contrary, as we have seen in manyparts of Africa and elsewhere, widespread corrup-tion in high places breeds poverty.

Nor in saying this am I asking this conference toaccept the widespread belief that Africa has morecorrupt, more tyrannical and more power-hungryelites than other continents, either now or histori-cally. While avoiding the living and naming only afew of the dead, it is surely easy to see that in thepast 75 years alone, Mobutu, Bokassa and ourmilitary coup leaders can be compared to Franco,Mussolini, Hitler, and the military juntas ofEurope and elsewhere. In all European countrieswhere the term of office is not limited by theconstitution, my fellow politicians there pridethemselves on how long, not on how briefly, theyremain in power. The trouble is that Amin,

Bokassa and Mobutu are Africans, whereasFranco, Hitler and Mussolini were Spanish,German and Italian, and Africa had nothing to dowith their rise to power.

Rather than conduct a post-mortem, this confer-ence should try to help Africa and African coun-tries to move forward from where we are now byaddressing the central issue of building andstrengthening the institutional framework of ourcontinent and its countries. In doing so, the confer-ence has to face the realities of Africa – all ofthem: the internal ones, where our theoreticallysovereign nations find that their freedom to act isobstructed by the depth of our poverty andtechnological backwardness; and those external tous and beyond our control, in relation to which weare like a collection of pygmies in a world wheregiants stalk, and from where modern and con-stantly changing technology floods outwards overthe world like an irresistible tide.

Still, none of these things justify despair. As theconference analyses the problems faced by Africaand tries to work out pratical solutions to all theobstacles facing our countries, I believe it can takecomfort and gain strength from what has beenachieved thus far, despite everything. Let memention some of the encouraging factors.

Most African countries are now, once again,“coping” with the worst of their economic prob-lems, and some are making good progress towardsbetter living conditions for their people. We hearlittle about such difficult triumphs over adversityin the context of international recessions andviolent changes in primary commodity prices, forexample.

Most of our countries are now living in a state ofinternal peace, a peace which is deepening. We donot hear about such peace unless it is broken.Despite the artificial and often unclear nationalborders of Africa, our States have largely avoidedviolent conflict among themselves. Despite thehistories of other continents, that accomplishmentis ignored – even within Africa. Although thisimportant success has been achieved largely

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through the work of the Organization of AfricanUnity (which African States themselves estab-lished), the media and the international communitygenerally refer to the OAU with derision, if at all.

Our children’s expectation of life, and all thatthose statistics imply, has greatly improved, exceptwhere countries became direct or indirectsurrogates in cold war conflicts, or were forspecial reasons among the countries involved inprolonged civil strife.

Africa now has a core of highly educated andinternationally recognized experts in various fields.Your presence here and the quality of the papersyou have produced is proof of that. Given thenumber of technically and professionally educatedAfricans in our countries at independence, and thepaucity of secondary or tertiary educationalinstitutions at that time, the number of high calibreexperts in Africa is now much larger than couldreasonably have been expected after this lapse oftime. Perhaps we are misusing them, but they arehere now. At independence, some of our countrieshad no trained people at all.

Finally, for better or worse, the first generation ofour leaders is fast being replaced by the second oreven the third. Most of them are better educated,relatively free from the mental hangovers ofcolonialism, and have had the opportunity to learnfrom the mistakes and successes of theirpredecessors.

With the help of work done at this conference I am

confident that African States, individually and incooperation with one another, can step by step andin an orderly fashion, move towards “goodgovernance”. That is the last point I wish to maketo you today.

The OAU exists and assists in the maintenance orrestoration of peace and cooperation within Africa,even if it is too severely weakened in action andcapacity by its lack of resources. Some subregionalorganizations are making limited but usefulcontributions to stability, peace and economicprogress in their respective areas. I hope that, asthe conference considers how African States canimprove their governance, it will also take intoconsideration the advantages to them of movingtowards cooperation and unity of action within andacross our continent.

The machinery of government and of unofficialinstitutions within African States can facilitate orhinder movement towards greater intra-Africancooperation. In addition, all-African institutions, aswell as those working on a subregional basis, maywell be able to benefit from the conference’sdeliberations, provided the latter bears in mind theprospective importance of the role these that theseintra-African institutions can play in strengtheningus all.

Mr. Chairman, I thank you and the otherconference participants for your patience. I wishyou fruitful discussions.

SUMMARY OFCONFERENCE DELIBERATIONS

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INTRODUCTION

The Conference entitled “Governance in Africa:Consolidating the Institutional Foundations,” wasconvened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 2 to 6March 1998. It was jointly organized by the UnitedNations Department of Economic and SocialAffairs (DESA) and the United Nations EconomicCommission for Africa (ECA), with the assistanceof the Government of Japan.

During the opening session, conferenceparticipants heard a message from the UnitedNations Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan;welcoming remarks by His Excellency,Mr. Woredewolde Wolde, Minister of Justice ofthe Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; anda keynote address by the convener, formerPresident Dr. Julius K. Nyerere. The Secretary-General’s message, which was read by the UnitedNations Under-Secretary-General and ExecutiveSecretary of the United Nations EconomicCommission for Africa, Mr. K.Y. Amoako,reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nationssystem to work with African countries inadvancing the cause of good governance and topropel the continent forward.

The Director of the Division for Public Economicsand Public Administration, Mr. Guido Bertucci,made opening remarks on behalf of Mr. NitinDesai, Under-Secretary-General of UNDESA. Asrepresentative of the host country, H.E. Mr.Woredewolde Wolde shared with the participantsthe lessons of Ethiopia’s experiment in thedevolution of power from the center to the locallevel, and wished the conference great success. Inhis opening remarks, the Ambassador of Japan toEthiopia, Mr. Yasuhiro Hamada, stated that theoutput of the conference would be fed to theforthcoming Tokyo International Conference onAfrican Development (TICAD II) (see statementsin annexes I-V).

The Conference brought together 66 participants

and nearly 100 observers from the internationalcommunity and the United Nations. The five-daymeeting was composed of two tiers: a Roundtableof a dozen eminent persons from within andoutside of Africa, which took place during the firsttwo days, followed by a three-day Workshop fordistinguished practitioners from around thecontinent. The overall objective of the meeting wasto provide a forum where participants could shareviews on how best to strengthen state institutionsand derive implementable initiatives and strategiesto facilitate the consolidation of the institutionalframework for good governance in Africancountries (see annexes VI and VII for the list ofparticipants and background working papers).

The conference was greatly energized by theseminal contribution of former President Nyerereto the debate on governance in Africa. From thekeynote address to his interventions in later ses-sions, the convener set the tone for the overalldiscussion on strengthening the institutionalfoundations of good governance in Africa. Relyingheavily on his past experience as a Head of Stateand on his vast knowledge of African politics, Dr.Nyerere showed how many of Africa’s problemsarose from bad governance, and delighted theparticipants with memorable examples of pastpolitical and economic policy mistakes. At thesame time, he felt that rather than conducting apost-mortem, the Conference should help Africamove forward with new ideas and innovativestrategies for building and strengthening theinstitutional framework of governance. Rejectingexternally imposed definitions of governance andnotions of a minimalist State, he insisted on theneed and the duty to strengthen the African State inorder to enable it to serve the people better. Dr.Nyerere was so persuasive and his views soinfluential that many of them emerged asconclusions from the conference deliberations.

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Conference participants were also privileged tohear from another distinguished African speaker,the Secretary-General of the Organization ofAfrican Unity (OAU), Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim.Speaking on “Governance in Africa: LessonsLearned from the Past,” the Secretary-General ofthe OAU affirmed that “the fundamental principlesof democracy and good governance are universal,”and that on the basis of the African experienceover the past several years, “the process ofdemocratization on the continent is irreversible.”The OAU has played and will continue to play asupportive role in this process, he indicated, so thatgood governance might assist efforts at addressingthe critical issues of peace, security, stability andeconomic development in Africa. Like those of Dr.Nyerere, many of the points made by Dr. Salimcan be found in the conclusions emerging from theroundtable and workshop discussions.

As expected, the conference deliberations touchedon a wide range of issues relevant to the consoli-dation of the institutional foundations of goodgovernance in Africa. These included the funda-mental issues of the nature and objective of good

governance, the nature and role of the state, keygovernance institutions (the constitution, thelegislature, the judiciary and the executive,including the public service) and civil society, aswell as related issues of the military, elections, theopposition, women, decentralization and the media.In addition to examining these issues in detail, theconference debated the question of how to managepolitical transitions in a manner that facilitates theachievement of good governance. In this regard,there was a clear recognition of the need tostrengthen the role of civil society organizations asintegral players in the transition process. Greatemphasis was placed on the need to enhance theeffectiveness and legitimacy of the State as anecessary condition for economic development andthe strengthening of good governance. Emergingfrom the roundtable and workshop discussionswere a number of recommendations for possiblefollow-up action. The following summary of theconference deliberations presents analyticalconclusions for each of the three major themes ofthe conference, and a summary of keyrecommendations.

GOVERNANCE AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The first theme of both roundtable and workshopdiscussions was governance and institutionaldevelopment. The debate on this theme revolvedaround the three traditional branches of govern-ment (legislature, judiciary, and executive), withgreater emphasis on the need to strengthen thelegislature (including the electoral process) and thejudiciary. There was a shared view that theexecutive branch in most African countries wasdisproportionately strong and what was neededwas a rerationalization of roles andresponsibilities.

Nature and objective of good governance

Participants were reminded of the Greek origin ofthe word “governance”, which relates to “steer-ing”. While there was a recognition that the

responsibility for steering national affairs layprimarily with the public sector, it was agreed thatthis must be done in partnership with civil society.Where there is no partnership, there is noconsultation. Experience shows that lack ofeffective consultation leads to poor governance.

Poor or bad governance was identified by par-ticipants as a source of many of the problemsfacing the African continent and the root cause ofits institutional crisis. By the same token, goodgovernance is essential to the design and imple-mentation of economic and social development aswell as to peace and security. And, in the reverse,poverty is inimical to good governance – a mini-mum level of economic and social well-being isnecessary to sustain democracy and good gover-nance. Poverty cannot be eradicated without good

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governance, and alleviation of human misery iscentral to the problem of governance in Africa.

Conference participants also dealt with some of theunderlying conditions of good governance. A verycompelling case was made that the fundamentalprinciples of democracy and good governance areuniversal, but their applicability to a specific con-text like Africa is a function of historical circum-stances and cultural realities. The idea that demo-cracy was not applicable to Africa, was rejected.For the ethnic, religious and other cleavages ofAfrican societies are not fundamentally differentfrom social cleavages elsewhere. To succeed,democracy and good governance require a strongcommitment to the values of equity, equality,tolerance, inclusiveness and the rule of law. TheIndian Ocean island of Mauritius was singled outas an African success story with respect toinclusiveness and good governance. As amultiracial and multi-ethnic society, Mauritius hasendeavored to ensure that minorities do not feel leftout of the system.

Nature and role of the State

The specific nature of the State as a set of gover-nance institutions and its economic and social rolein contemporary Africa were discussed in con-nection with good governance in Africa. There waswidespread agreement that the externally drivenidea of a minimalist State, or the notion ofshrinking the State to the benefit of nongovern-mental organizations (NGOs), was not desirable. Itwas argued that Africa should ignore the call forweakening the State, as the continent is alreadybeset by too many weak States. There is a need tostrengthen the African State in order to make itserve the people better.

Participants, however, noted that a strong State isnot necessarily an overburdened one nor one with abloated bureaucracy. It is, on the contrary, a Statethat has the power or capacity to act efficiently inmeeting the interests and needs of the people. In amarket economy dominated by the rich, the Statehas to intervene on behalf of the poor. In order to

mediate between conflicting claims and interests,the State must be stronger rather than weaker. Andthis is essential for purposes of formulating andimplementing economic policy. For someparticipants, a central question for Africandemocracies is the capacity to set up viableeconomic systems. For a democracy without food,clean water, schools and other basic necessities oflife cannot be sustained.

In addition to the NGOs, the State as a centrallocus for action is challenged by the internationalcommunity, particularly with respect to economicpolicy. Are policy decisions made internally orimposed from the outside? Can African Statesfollow the example of the Asian countries to indus-trialize their economies? These and relatedquestions were discussed with reference to the roleof the State in the economy and the prerequisitesfor sustainable economic growth like goodgovernance and political stability.

How the State meets the challenge of economicgrowth will depend on several factors, including itslegitimacy, effectiveness and the level of insti-tutional development. Legitimacy and effectivenessare interrelated, where legitimacy refers to theState’s acceptance by the people and effectivenessto its capacity to accomplish what it promises todo. When a government is effective, it builds legiti-macy; and when it is legitimate, it can count onpopular support to enhance its effectiveness. This,however, is a function of the level of institutionaldevelopment, which, it was noted, remains low inmost African countries.

Low institutional capacity was seen as being inte-grally tied to the problem of legitimacy and themanner in which the State is perceived by mostpeople in Africa. So long as the masses see thestate as a means of access to riches for rulers andtheir entourage, the tendency will be to distruststate institutions. For the State to overcome thislack of legitimacy and be perceived as a set ofimpartial institutions, a great deal of institution-building and commensurate awareness-buildingmust take place. This is critical to creating theappropriate perception and trust.

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Legal foundations and key governanceinstitutions

Much of the conference debate revolved around thecentral or key institutions of governance, thelinkages and relationships between them, and theirinterface with civil society. The crucial role of theconstitution as the fundamental law and basicexpression of the rule of law was affirmed. Thereis no democracy without the rule of law, and all theinstitutions of government must respect theconstitution. In Africa, new and very good consti-tutions are being adopted. Although the populationis usually consulted through the referendum,greater effort is needed to build a culture of respectfor the constitution among both the general publicand political leaders. This is all the more necessaryin view of the fact that constitutions have not onlybeen violated by those sworn to uphold them, buthave been amended to suit incumbent regimes.

One of the constitutional requirements of goodgovernance is the clear definition of the roles andpowers of the three traditional branches of gov-ernment: the legislature, the judiciary and theexecutive. Good governance demands that eachpower be called to task if it violates the rules orinterferes with the work of the other two. Partici-pants debated, among other issues, the extent towhich checks and balances are respected in the realfunctioning of African political institutions; theneed to make legislatures more answerable to theirelectorates than to the wishes of the ruling party,i.e., the executive; and doing away with thepersonality cult, nepotism, clientelism and personalrule in the executive branch. Questions were raisedabout the appropriateness of power sharing as aprinciple of governance in multiparty systems andabout term limits for executive officeholders. Itwas felt that these and related questions deservemore scrutiny as part of Africa’s search for themost appropriate and stable institutions of goodgovernance.

Much of the discussion on the key governanceinstitutions centered on the institutional develop-ment of the legislature, the judiciary and other lawenforcement agencies. With respect to the legisla-

ture, the main issues were twofold.

First, there was the question of institutionalcapacity-building for Parliament and its subunits,or legislative committees, to fulfill their missionsof making laws, controlling the executive andresponding to the aspirations and demands of thepeople.

Second, there was the need for training (i.e., skillsdevelopment, knowledge enhancement, and attitudechange) the legislators and their assistants ortechnical personnel to be more productive andeffective in their work.This implies developingskills for making laws, including drafting bills,improving investigative methods and techniques,and fulfilling all the other oversight functions in acompetent manner. Capacity-building for parlia-mentarians may be achieved through nationaltraining programmes, exchange programmes withother parliaments, and participation in studymissions, brainstorming workshops and majorconferences.

With respect to the judicial branch, the centralissue involves reinforcing the independence,integrity and competence of the judiciary.Participants agreed that the independence of thejudiciary should be enhanced by its financialautonomy. Other issues discussed included theprocedure for appointing judges; improving thecareer and working conditions of judges; andimproving the quality of judges, magistrates andjudicial services, through continuous training andretooling. The problem of lower courts was alsodebated, but it was difficult to develop a consensuson the issue, given the great variety in the experi-ences of these courts, including traditional orcustomary courts operating on bases other thanwritten law. However, it was agreed that as lawenforcement agencies, these courts and theirofficers should be trained to observe and respectthe basic rights of the people who appear beforethem.

The question of the abuse of authority and viola-tion of human rights by the courts, the police andother law enforcement agencies figured promi-

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nently in the conference deliberations on capacity-building for legal framework and enforcement.Although much of the debate centered on the policeand corruption, the institutional strengthening ofall law-enforcement agencies, including the publicprosecutors and prisons, and of the entire legalsystem and community, was deemed essential tothe promotion of the rule of law and goodgovernance. Participants were concerned that theexisting low levels of remuneration for publicservants generally, judges and other law- enforce-ment officers in particular, continued to underminethe effectiveness of the judiciary and createconditions conducive to corruption.

Overall, the participants emphasized the centralityof the constitution in national affairs and advo-cated that constitutions should be translated intoindigenous languages so that the vast majority ofthe people can have better knowledge of theirrights and responsibilities under the law.

Political transitions in Africa

The debate on the various issues related to gover-nance in Africa pointed to the conclusion thatconstitutions and institutional structures in them-selves are not enough to ensure good governance.In addition, active involvement of the people inlocal and national affairs is essential. Recognizingthe tremendous developments in Africa in the lastfew years in creating conditions for stability andeconomic development, the participants generallyagreed that the democratization process is nowirreversible. There was recognition that snags,bottlenecks, and other interruptions may occur, butthese would be short-lived.

The participants discussed extremely usefulexperiences on governance institutions in Asia, theCaribbean, North America, and South Africa.Much of the discussion centered on the publicservice and the relationship between the seniorpublic service and political authorities. In thedeveloping countries and regions examined, it wasnoted that the crisis of the State was an importantdimension of the overall crisis of development. TheState was no longer a place for upward mobility

for university graduates and aspiring middleclasses, as public service salaries and benefits wereincreasingly inferior to those in the private sector.

In this context, the reform effort with respect toimproving the quality of policy-making, manage-ment and service delivery calls for greater part-nership between political authorities and the publicservice; an inclusive rather than exclusive orauthoritarian leadership style; a performance-basedreward system in the public service; andappropriate mechanisms of service delivery involv-ing the strengthening of local governments andcommunity groups, including NGOs. Other reformstrategies mentioned that could be of potentialbenefit to the political transitions in Africa includea clearer definition of the role of government insociety, together with the most appropriate andaffordable programmes; reinvigorating the publicservice through risk-taking approaches to problem-solving; and strengthening the legislative andjudicial branches of government by providing themwith their own budgets.

An important dimension of the current politicaltransitions in Africa is the role that women can anddo play in the process. Participants were remindedof the need to recognize the contribution of womenas central actors in governance and in thepromotion of peace and conflict resolution inAfrica. The gender dimension of governanceshould be actively promoted at all levels ofdecision-making and in all the institutions of theState, civil society and the private sector. It istherefore necessary to infuse public policy andstrategy with gender sensitivity, as in India, wheregender balance is pursued through appropriatestatutory provision. There was a strong view thatthe contribution of women in the structure forfreedom and democracy was neither adequatelyacknowledged nor rewarded.

Unlike the other developing regions of the world,where civilian control over the military is fairlywell established, military coups d’état remain areal threat to the transition from authoritarianismto democracy in Africa. If there was widespreadconsensus that no military intervention against

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democratically elected governments should beallowed, questions were raised about what to doshould an elected government become corruptand/or dictatorial. The political culture of themilitary was noted as a significant factor in thedecision to intervene. The politicization of thearmy in Tanzania after the 1964 mutiny, and thecontrast between Burundi in 1993 and SouthAfrica in 1994 following major elections, wereshown as important case studies in political cultureand civil-military relations in Africa. Theparticipants also noted the valuable role thatregional groupings, such as the Economic Com-munity of West African States, can play in fore-stalling the perpetuation of military regimes.

Elections and the role of the opposition in ademocracy were two other issues discussed inconnection with the political transitions in Africa.It was noted that voter registration remains low,and that in recent times there has been a lowturnout of registered voters at the polls. Althoughvoter apathy is not limited to Africa, it is a matterof concern in a continent where free and fairelections are still an unfulfilled demand of thedemocracy movement. Part of the reason for voterapathy is the fact that the vast majority of thepopulation is still not involved in the politicaldebate. Another reason is that the electoral process

has yet to achieve a high level of credibility. Evenwhere independent electoral commissions do exist,people are still skeptical about the fairness of theprocess, and losers have yet to accept their defeatas being part of the democratic process. A thirdreason is the role that money plays in electoraloutcomes. Dealing with electoral corruptionremains a major challenge of the democratizationprocess in Africa.

Consistent with the issues of power sharing and thefairness of the electoral process, it was suggestedthat there is need for Africa to rethink the role andvalue of political opposition. Is it necessary to havean European-type opposition? What accounts forthe immaturity, the weakness and the opportunismof much of the opposition in Africa today? Noconsensus emerged on this subject at the confer-ence. However, the ideal of maintaining an opendialogue between the ruling party and the opposi-tion was emphasized. The Botswana practice,whereby all political parties are brought together atan annual conference to discuss policy options,was cited as a positive example of how hostilitiesbetween political parties can be diffused. Includingmembers of the opposition in leadership positionsin the standing committees of Parliament shouldalso help consolidate the institutional foundationsof good governance.

THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND DEVELOPMENT

The second major area of focus for the Conferencewas the executive branch, with particular emphasison the public service, its role in governance, and itscontribution to development goals. Issues ofparticular interest included the question of how tomeasure the performance of the public service; theproblem of corruption and how to deal with it; andthe current preoccupation with public servicereform through institutional development andcapacity-building for economic and socialdevelopment. Building capacity, together withpromoting the professionalism of the service andenforcing a code of ethics for its agents, was seenas central to the whole question of consolidating

and strengthening the institutional foundations forgood governance in Africa.

Nature of the public service and its role ingovernance

The discussion on the public service began withexercises in definition. After a fruitful exchange ofviews, participants distinguished between thenotion of civil service and public service andagreed to focus on the latter, as it was moreinclusive, referring to all agencies of publicadministration, including parastatals and lawenforcement agencies. The latter definition has the

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advantage of situating the public service at theintersection of a network of relations betweenadministrative, political and economic structures.And it is this point of convergence that helpsexplain the role of the public service in governanceand its contribution to economic growth anddevelopment.

Since decolonization, African countries havesought to establish development administrationsystems to serve the people in meeting their basicneeds and aspirations for economic and socialdevelopment. To a large extent, this goal was notmet, as the capacity built up in the wake of inde-pendence was eroded by the combined effect ofinstitutional decay and persistent economic crisis,resulting in a diminished ability to perform bothroutine and developmental tasks in a satisfactorymanner. How to correct this situation with a leanand yet competent and effective public service thatwould motivate individual agents and rewardmerit, figured prominently in the discussions.However, much of the debate revolved around twoquestions: measuring public service performanceand the problem of corruption.

Measuring public service performance

The question of measuring public service per-formance is basic for good governance in the sensethat the administration must be held accountablefor its acts. Assessing what is accomplishedagainst the objectives or operational goals of thepublic service, should help not only withaccountability, but also with establishing a systemof monitoring continuous improvement in perfor-mance. It was noted that the objectives are gener-ally fixed with reference to the missions or policygoals of the administration. Very often, there is amarked discrepancy between the expectations ofusers and the actual services rendered. Moreover,some of the objectives are difficult to measure inthe short term, and most administrations in Africahave not shown much interest in what their clientsthink of their work.

If performance evaluation consists in measuringresults against the defined objectives and policy

goals, the choice of indicators, whether qualitativeor quantitative, is often controversial. The normsof the evaluation, the identity of the evaluators andthe manner in which the evaluation itself is carriedout are also subjects on which agreement is noteasy to establish. In spite of these constraints,supervision, control and monitoring of publicservice performance are part and parcel of thefunctions of the executive, the legislative and thejudicial branches of government, respectively.Independent commissions such as the Office of theOmbudsman and citizen review boards or panelscan also play the monitoring role so that the publicservice may remain faithful to its mission ofserving the people.

Professionalism and ethics in the publicservice

Corruption is one factor that affects public serviceperformance in an adverse manner. Participantsdiscussed the issue and its causes at length, andnoted things such as low salaries; the absence of aneffective system of control; a culture of impunity inthe public sector; lack of political support for anti-corruption programmes; and the lack of pro-fessionalism and ethics in the public service. Todeal with the problem, a long list of remedies wasproposed, the following among others: to promotethe values of rigour, integrity and transparency inpublic affairs; fight against practices that are con-trary to the general interest; simplify and publishworking manuals with information on the nature ofservices provided by the State and what is requiredto benefit from them; establish public assistanceand complaint services; require the wearing ofname tags by public servants; improve financialmanagement and promote financial accountability;and implement a programme of capacity-buildingin administrative management.

It was noted that corruption and the decline ofprofessional ethics in the public service took a turnfor the worse at the end of the 1970s, when theeconomic and political situation began todeteriorate in most African countries. In manyinstances, programmes such as structural adjust-ment and the exigencies of the globalization

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process have had negative economic impacts onlarge segments of society. This, in turn, hasadversely affected the motivation of many publicservants. Improving the national political climateand the economic conditions of public sectoremployees is an important requirement for raisingthe level of professionalism and ethics in the publicservice. In addition, for there to be a trulyprofessional public service, meritocracy must beestablished and adequately rewarded.

Capacity-building in the public service

On the basis of the preceding discussion, publicservice reform must imply the creation of linkagesbetween capacity-building and institutionaldevelopment as a means of reinforcing the role ofthe public service in governance and in economicand social development. The thrust of this effort ishuman resources development, including in-servicetraining of public servants for a more effectiveperformance of their tasks. The training itselfshould correspond to institutional needs and

priorities, and involve all categories of publicservants. The skills that need to be developed andreinforced should include collaborative leadership,teamwork, and better information managementthrough the electronic media.

Participants agreed that in addition to training, thereform effort must deal with the restructuring ofthe public service and better remuneration andworking conditions for its employees. They furtherfelt that the public service of the future, at bothlocal and national levels, should be lean, competentand flexible in its operation. It ought to make itselfaccessible to the general public, seek to satisfy theneeds of its clients and strive for a higher quality ofperformance in its work. Public servants should beretained, promoted and rewarded on the basis ofperformance, rather than simply because of lengthof service. Restructuring was also seen aspotentially useful in improving salaries andbenefits, as it would result in removing from thepayroll large numbers of ghost employees.

THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN GOVERNANCE

The third and last major theme of the Conferencewas the role of civil society in governance. As apartner in governance alongside the State and theprivate sector, civil society is actively involved inexpanding the political space and in making stateinstitutions more responsive to the people inAfrica. After attempting to define what civilsociety is and describing how civil society organi-zations (CSOs) build their capacity, participantsdiscussed at length a number of key issues per-taining to their increasing role in governance, withparticular emphasis on the relationship betweencivil society and the public service and on strength-ening the role of CSOs in the current politicaltransitions.

Civil society

The definition of civil society proved elusive. Whatwas common to nearly all the proposed definitionswas the affirmation that civil society refers to that

sphere of human activity involving organizationsoutside of the state sector which, nonetheless,interact with the State to serve the needs of thepeople. CSOs include human rights groups, mediagroups, NGOs, professional associations, studentassociations, trade unions and women’s groups.

Capacity-building of civil societyorganizations (CSOs)

Participants were challenged to examine theprocess of capacity-building in CSOs by develop-ing a consensus on two interrelated issues: (1)what is meant by capacity-building; and (2) therole of domestic and international organizations,both public and private, in building the CSOs’capacity. Taken together with a third issue onclassifying CSOs according to their principal areaof activity, the discussion on this question didbring out a number of helpful conclusions on howCSOs build their capacity.

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Most CSOs are voluntary associations created toachieve stated objectives. As autonomous entitiesthat do not owe their existence to an act of Parlia-ment, an executive decree, or any other externalagency, their approach to institutional capacity-building must be unique or different from organi-zations that are part or creations of either the Stateor business enterprises. They thus take respons-ibility for building and strengthening their owncapacity, and they do so through actual involve-ment in the activities for which they exist. It istherefore in doing the work for which they werecreated that CSOs develop their expertise and theirability to grow and improve their performance.Although human and financial resources are indis-pensable to the success of CSO activities, they areno substitute for practical involvement in the pro-motion of their cause as a necessary condition ofinstitutional capacity-building.

It was agreed that the mobilization of resources tostrengthen capacity can create problems for CSOsand their credibility in Africa. The fact that manyCSOs rely on external funding from foreign gov-ernments, foundations and international organi-zations raises questions as to what extent theiractivities might be driven by externally definedagendas rather than their own. Competition forfunds from a single donor or limited sources mayalso create an unfavorable climate as groups andindividuals may fight each other to win the prize.At the same time, it was noted that rurally basedCSOs like cooperative societies seem to rely moreon their own resources. This helps them focusmore on issues that are important to them and noton those that the donor community deemsimportant.

Key issues in the increasing role of civilsociety in governance

Consistent with the definition of civil society andits organizations, participants underscored the factthat CSOs are not created as a result of govern-ment charity. They are established as part of theinherent right of people to organize themselves inorder to promote their interests within a legalframework. It was agreed that civil society isplaying an increased role in governance in Africa,through an increased ability to influence policy andin strengthening a partnership with the Statethrough the democratization process.

Although participants acknowledged that a keyobjective of the partnership between the State andcivil society in governance is the devolution ofpower to regional and local authorities, there was ageneral agreement that within the African context,such devolution of power was not, at this time inthe development of the continent, a key priority.Emphasis, they argued, should be on the streng-thening of the central government with a view tomaking it more efficient, effective and accountablein the exercise of its power. There was a strongview that decentralization and devolution of powerand authority to subnational entities should becarried out with care and as part of a long-termstrategic plan, taking into consideration theavailability of human and financial resources andoverall national concerns.

In advocating the strengthening of the centralgovernment, participants argued that this should bedone with the involvement of civil society throughNGOs, professional organizations and otherspecial interest groups. They expressed the viewthat the establishment of good governance was notan exclusive task of the government. On the otherhand, they warned against the simplistic view ofregarding NGOs as “good” and the state as “bad”,as this could lead to a permanent rupture in therelationship between the State and NGOs. Theconcern, it was argued, should be on how best tobuild an effective and mutually beneficial partner-ship between the State and civil society. In thisregard emphasis was put on the need to establish

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appropriate mechanisms for effective communica-tion between civil society and the central govern-ment. Such regular communication would, on theone hand, help in reducing tensions and antago-nisms by providing ways of airing grievances andconcerns before they explode while, on the otherhand, it would encourage and facilitatetransparency and accountability in the managementof state affairs.

The particular role of professional associationssuch as law societies, women’s organizations,human rights groups and the media in promotingthe rule of law and equal rights was discussed. Themedia as an institution was singled out as a majorfactor in the creation of an enabling environmentfor increasing civil society role in governance. Forcivil society is strong when it is well informed. Theemergence of an independent press that, in spite ofits excesses and limitations, plays a positive role inthe democratization process, was also noted. Giventhe poor quality of the information provided,strengthening the capacity of the media isindispensable. The need to train media specialistsin a way conducive to fair treatment of issues anda more responsible role, was underlined.Participants were informed that the OAU has putthis issue on its priority agenda.

Civil society and the public service

Three dimensions of the relationship between civilsociety and the public service were discussed at theconference. Partnership, the first dimension, hasalready been mentioned. This involves all aspectsof collaboration between the State and civilsociety, including the subcontracting of socialservices for delivery by NGOs. The second andthird dimensions are interrelated. They involve therole of CSOs as watchdogs of public serviceperformance generally, on the one hand, and theinvolvement of civil society in establishing andoperating various official mechanisms for trans-parency, accountability and participation, on theother. Independent electoral commissions, theOffice of the Ombudsman, public mediacommissions, and citizens monitoring panels suchas civilian police boards, were among those

frequently mentioned in the discussions.

Strengthening the role of civil societyorganizations in the political transitions

Finally, a key issue in the increasing role of civilsociety in governance is the role of CSOs in on-going political transitions in Africa. What exactrole has civil society played in these transitions,and how can it be strengthened in a manner con-sistent with the promotion of good governance andthe consolidation of its institutional foundations inAfrica today? Participants debated these questionswith a view to understanding what is at stake in thecurrent transition and the role of CSOs inpromoting the culture of democracy and the rule oflaw.

The current transition was defined as involving afundamental political change from authoritarianismto democracy. In this narrow sense, the transitionwould be deemed complete once the change tookplace, although temporary reverses such asmilitary coups d’etat against democratically electedgovernments cannot be ruled out everywhere. Atthe same time, a major and more fundamentalaspect of the transition involves a paradigm shiftfrom a vision of the State as the property of rulersand their entourage, to one in which the State isperceived as a set of impartial institutions beforewhich all persons are equal and entitled to equalprotection of the law.

Civil society organizations have played a majorrole in educating the public to make this paradigmshift. They have been involved in major campaignsfor political change such as the mass democraticmovement in apartheid South Africa and thenational conferences of Central and West Africa.Having built their capacity through their involve-ment in social, political and economic activities,CSOs are now in a position to strengthen their rolein the political transitions in Africa throughalliances with other democratic forces. A majorobjective of the democracy movement is to defendthe right of people to rise up against dictatorshipand authoritarian rule in order to establishgovernments that reflect their aspirations and serve

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their interests. Should the current transitionproduce such governments, civil society will haveplayed a historic role in strengthening the

institutional foundations of good governance inAfrica.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

Following are the key recommendations thatemerged from the Conference deliberations:

1. A consensus needs to be developed on thedefinition of good governance as a starting pointfor appropriate strategies for strengthening theinstitutional foundations of good governance ofrespective countries in Africa.

2. Institution-building is essential to theconsolidation of good governance. Although theprocess must begin with state institutions, thecentrality of the State should not exclude otheractors. Both the state and civil society needinstitutional development, and local governments,NGOs and other civil society actors must beincluded in the strategies for strengthening goodgovernance.

3. Good governance and sustainable economicdevelopment are interrelated. Governments mustcreate an enabling environment for economicgrowth and development, and this should include:(a) a well-educated and trained work force;(b) a strong private sector; (c) political stability;(d) the right investment environment with respectto legislation and the infrastructure; and(e) people’s involvement in the developmentalprocess.

4. Constitutions must not only reflect the wishesof the people, but also be made through a processof wide consultation with them. It is only throughsuch involvement and/or through education thatpeople can learn and retain respect for the con-stitution. To familiarize ordinary people with theirconstitutions, financial resources are needed totranslate them into indigenous languages.

5. Constitutionalism and the rule of law alsorequire a politically aware, tolerant and involvedcitizenry, one that can ensure the effective func-

tioning and legitimacy of state institutions. Toachieve this goal, financial resources are alsoneeded for nationwide campaigns of education fordemocracy, including the culture of peace,tolerance and respect for diversity.

6. Governments must make sure that minoritiesare not excluded from the political process nordiscriminated against with respect to access tostate resources and services.

7. Training programmes are needed to strengthenthe institutional capacity of parliament and itslegislative committees, enabling them to play theirchecks and balances role effectively, and toenhance the skills of legislators and their technicalstaff in legislating, investigating wrongful behaviorby public officials, and controlling governmentspending. Strong and well-equipped research unitsare also needed to provide parliamentarians withadequate, timely and current information necessaryfor decision-making.

8. Parliamentarians should work in close con-sultation with their constituents. This shouldinclude regular meetings within their communitiesto listen to people’s concerns and policyrecommendations.

9. The independence of the judiciary should beenhanced by its financial autonomy. The judiciaryshould have its own budget, independently of theexecutive branch.

10. To ensure the independence of the judiciary,the executive should not have the power to removejudges from office. The most appropriate system ofappointment is a three-tier system in which ajudicial service commission recommends names ofprospective judges to the executive, which submitsthem for parliamentary approval beforeappointment.

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11. Judges and all the staff in the judiciary needcontinuous training and a good work environmentin terms of equipment, logistics, and a secureinformation storage and retrieval system.

12. Institutional development and capacity-building in the judiciary is most needed at thelower level, where the credentials, remunerationand working conditions of magistrates must beimproved. District and other lower-court clerksalso need training to enhance their skills.

13. Better linkages are needed between moderncourts of law and traditional/customary courts,whose judges must be trained to respect humanrights and to abandon arbitrary decisions. Thelatter courts should be fully integrated into thejudicial system to allow people to have access tohigher courts when they are not satisfied with thejudgments of the traditional/customary courts.

14. Creating a lean, competent and effectivepublic service implies the institutionalization ofmeritocracy, the end of impunity, the establishmentof anti-corruption mechanisms, greater promotionof professionalism, and the enforcement of arigorous code of ethics. These control measuresshould be complemented with better salaries andworking conditions, and this may be easier toattain once ghost or fictitious employees areremoved from the payroll.

15. Financial management should be improved inorder to enhance accountability in the executivebranch of governance. Improved financial manage-ment is also essential for combating corruption inthe public service.

16. The international community should refrainfrom recognizing military governments establishedby soldiers who overthrow democratically electedgovernments.

17. The role of women in governance should beactively promoted at all levels of decision- makingand in all institutions of the State, civil society andthe private sector. Although constitutions and other

legal instruments are now gender-sensitive, there isa strong need for policy to implement genderrecognition in decision-making bodies.

18. Capacity-building for electoral systems toenhance their ability to organize free, fair andtransparent elections, is essential for consolidatingthe institutional foundations of good governance inAfrica.

19. Building Parliament and its committees aseffective organs of legislative oversight, as well asindependent regulatory bodies, such as electoralcommissions, the Office of the Auditor General,the Office of the Ombudsman and others, alsorequires the kind of financial resources that mostAfrican States cannot mobilize on their own. Thecontribution of the international community isindispensable in this respect.

20. The ruling and opposition parties should stopregarding each other as enemies. Workshops andmeetings designed to narrow differences betweenthem, and other collaborative mechanisms designedto enhance the national interest should be activelypromoted.

21. To enhance the media’s educational role andits contribution to democratic values, trainingprogrammes with emphasis on fairness, respons-ibility and objectivity are needed.

22. Governments should be pro-active inremoving obstacles to collaboration with civilsociety by taking measures to create a genuinepartnership between state institutions, including thepublic service, with civil society organizations.Regularly held meetings and consultations betweenthe State, civil society and the private sector shouldbe encouraged for a frank and open discussion ofall issues of concern to all parties.

23. Mechanisms should be created for measuringthe performance of the public service and involvingcivil society organizations in monitoring thisperformance, and that of other state institutions.

ANNEXES

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ANNEX I

OPENING STATEMENTBY MR. K. Y. AMOAKO

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF ECA

Your Excellency Mwalimu Julius Nyerere,Convener of this important Conference, YourExcellency Mr. Worede Wolde, Minister of Justiceof the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,my dear friend and colleague Dr. Salim AhmedSalim, Secretary-General of the Organization ofAfrican Unity, Mr. Seigi Hinatu, Deputy Director-General, Middle Eastern and African AffairsBureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Governmentof Japan, distinguished guests, ladies andgentlemen,

Welcome to Addis Ababa, to the EconomicCommission for Africa and to the United NationsConference Center.

We at ECA firmly believe that good governance isan essential ingredient for democracy and forsustainable economic development in the continent.The Commission therefore considers it a privilegeto extend a special welcome to the eminentpersonalities and distinguished participants whoare here today because of their deep commitmentto the development of democratic, peaceful andjust societies on our continent. Most particularly, Iwould like to wholeheartedly thank His ExcellencyPresident Julius Nyerere for agreeing to convenethe Roundtable of eminent personalities.

The objective of the Conference is to provideparticipants a forum for reflecting on issues ofgood governance as they relate to Africa’s politicaland economic transformation. Specifically, theConference agenda is designed to:

• Facilitate dialogue on how best to strengthenstate institutions as a critical condition for goodgovernance;

• Identify obstacles constraining the consolidation

of good governance; and

• Propose implementable strategies that will assistAfrica to overcome these constraints andconsolidate the gains achieved to date.

We all know too well that weak professional andinstitutional capacity is at the heart of Africa’sdevelopment challenge. And poor governance, inturn, is the root cause of Africa’s capacity prob-lems. Yet, what is exciting today is that the waveof democratization, as well as the opening ofpolitical systems to greater citizen participation,now offer us an opportunity to rethink the role ofthe capable state, the importance of accountableand transparent systems of economic management,the inviolability of the rule of law and fundamentalhuman rights, and the urgency to institute lastingdemocratic structures.

These opportunities and the accompanying effortsare critical to ensure that enduring sound gover-nance practices are in place to underpin thesuccess of the economic transformation andpolitical liberalization underway in the continent.But, as I pointed out in this very Conference hallon the occasion of the May 1997 ECA and UNDPco-sponsored NGO Consultation on Governance inAfrica, these opportunities should not be taken forgranted. Indeed, they can easily slip by unless weare ready to exert vigorous and dedicated efforts toensure that the process of change would beirreversible. That, I believe, is what this meeting isall about.

Before calling on the distinguished speakers, Imight add that the issues for this Conference werealso brought out by the findings of the manycountry reports presented at the First African

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Governance Forum co-sponsored by ECA andUNDP in July 1997. These reports reaffirmed thatto sustain good governance, the entire range ofinstitutions of governance – the economic andadministrative capability of the State, the legis-lature, the judiciary, political parties, human rightscommissions and other monitoring organs withincivil society – must be improved. The agenda ofthis Conference and the background papers pre-pared for it, are rightly focused on how this can beachieved, drawing on country experiences in andoutside Africa.

I am confident that the Roundtable discussions,today and tomorrow, will yield useful insights as tohow we can strengthen the institutional foundationsfor good governance in Africa. The three-dayWorkshop that will follow with the expectedparticipation of about 75 participants is designed

to synthesize and discuss in depth the Roundtabledeliberations and develop concreterecommendations.

I would like to express my appreciation to theGovernment of Japan for its partnership andgenerous support, without which the convening ofthis Conference and the follow-up Workshopwould not have been possible. I would also like tothank the United Nations Department of Economicand Social Affairs for its active role in co-sponsoring this event with ECA.

It is now my pleasure to call upon Mr. GuidoBertucci, representing Mr. Nitin Desai, UnitedNations Under-Secretary-General for Economicand Social Affairs, who unfortunately could not behere with us today, to deliver his statement.

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ANNEX II

ADDRESS BYMR. GUIDO BERTUCCI, DIRECTOR

DIVISION FOR PUBLIC ECONOMICSAND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS,UNITED NATIONS

Mr. Chairman, your excellencies, distinguishedparticipants,

It is a privilege for me to welcome you to this veryimportant gathering, which is going to address anissue of critical importance to the future develop-ment of Africa. I am gratified to note that the par-ticipants to this Conference have been drawn froma cross-section of government, the private, sectorand civil society. Such a mixture will undoubtedlybring tremendous value to the discussions, as theissues will be considered from multipleperspectives based on real-life experiences.

I am particularly delighted to welcome the formerPresident of Tanzania, H.E. Mwalimu JuliusKambarage Nyerere, who in his role as Convener,will be steering the deliberations of the Conference.I know that Mwalimu Nyerere will enrich thisConference, not only because of his longexperience as Head of State, but also because ofhis extensive involvement in global issues asChairman of the South-South Commission andmost recently as the regional Mediator in Burundiand in the Great Lakes region generally.

I am most grateful to Mr. Amoako, ExecutiveSecretary of ECA, for the support he has per-sonally offered for the holding of this meeting, andfor the cooperation provided by his staff. It isunder Mr. Amoako’s leadership that the UnitedNations is carrying out a number of initiativesfocused on African development in general and ongovernance in particular. It is therefore quite

befitting that he also be leading this meeting, whichforms part of a series of gatherings organizedcooperatively by ECA, DESA and UNDP in thearea of governance.

I also want to express my gratitude to theGovernment of Japan for providing support to theConference; to the Government of Ethiopia forhaving us in this beautiful country with a long andrich history; and to our collaborating partners, theCommonwealth Secretariat and the MwalimuNyerere Foundation.

Many societies, governments and institutions inAfrica and throughout the world are in the midst ofrapid and profound transformation. It is rapid onaccount of the process of globalization, which hasan irreversible momentum of its own. It isprofound because it touches the core of the State’sraison d’être, as well as its traditions, modes andforms of operation. This has contributed to posi-tive political and economic change in most cases.However, in some cases, it has also caused somedislocation, due to unintended and complex out-comes involved in global change.

One area of positive transformation has been in therelationship between government and the governed.The growth of civil society during the past decadehas generated some very promising results in termsof productivity and basic economic indicators. Ithas also accelerated a proliferation of democratictransfers of power and overall movement towardparticipatory governance and organized activity by

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non-state actors. These changes are most welcomeand necessary. The promise of equitable,sustainable development is predicated ontransparent, accountable governance. However, toachieve it will test every available resource, everystructure and all the skills that government policy-makers and practitioners can muster. Thus, it iskeenly important that the fundamental prerequisitesfor governance be elaborated and refined.

The objectives of this conference are to explore thecentral institutions of governance and how toensure that they function effectively, efficiently andjudiciously. These key elements include: theconstitutional framework and the related measuresto safeguard it and adhere to the rule of law; therole of civil society and how to enhance its capa-city to interface with government responsibly andeffectively; and finally, the public service and theneed to build constructive, productive relationshipswith the political leadership and civil society.

When we see children listen attentively and askquestions in a rural classroom; women attendfunctional literacy classes in an urban neighbor-hood; men and women launch small businesses;mothers take their babies for well-baby clinics;villagers and slum-dwellers, who have been trainedin entrepreneurial skills and granted low-interestloans, attend counselling sessions with localadvisers; community residents engage in strategicplanning for social and economic advancement;businesspersons, who are receiving loans andcreating jobs, compete to lower prices for nationalconsumers and increase revenues from exportproducts, thereby contributing to nationaldevelopment, we see images of activities andoutcomes in a State where “governance”institutions are stable and civil servants focus onproviding services and positive outcomes for theirclients.

When we see environmental advocacy groupspetitioning the State to hold hearings on the site ofnew landfills and power plants, or we see residentsplanning improvements in their housing andpetitioning landlords and government agencies foraction and funding, we see the images of civil

society interacting with the State and its publicservants to bring equity, justice, fairness and socialand economic development.

Throughout the world today, there is an urgentneed to reaffirm the principle of democraticgovernance and to restore not only the State, butalso civil society to their rightful places. However,this pressing task of raising the prestige andcredibility of government cannot be accomplishedovernight. It cannot be done without concertedefforts to enhance both the capacity and overallperformance of government institutions. Last, butnot least, strengthening civil society is a necessaryprocess that entails institution-building andtraining.

Experience demonstrates that raising the per-formance of the institutions of government, aprocess so important for democratization andsocio-economic development, is largely predicatedon a strong, well-informed and proactive civilsociety. Only effective non-state actors can ensurethat government policies respond to theexpectations and needs of private citizens. Onlyeffective non-state actors can prevent the abuse ofpower and protect the indivdual against the risks ofan overbearing, insensitive and inefficientbureaucracy.

A key feature of these particular meetings is theemphasis being placed on linkages and relation-ships in the governance arena. Most commonly,technical assistance programmes have focused onspecific institutions, which have been the target ofactivities, funded both by government budgets andother donors. But, realistically speaking, fewgovernance successes rest on the capacity of oneinstitution alone. Rather, linkage concepts, such ascoordination, transparency and accountability, canensure that efforts are focused on results ratherthan on bureaucratic imperatives. Thus, trans-parency reminds us that decisions taken in theopen, in the sight of all stakeholders, are morelikely to be fair and credible. Coordination andaccountability remind us of the need for coop-eration and a balance of power among institutionsof the State and civil society.

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Just as governments and their citizens should jointogether in partnership, let us, the participants inthis United Nations workshop, join together tolearn from each other and to develop innovativemechanisms for governance in African societies.

I look forward to your fruitful discussions duringthe coming days and to a successful conclusion toyour deliberations.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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ANNEX III

ADDRESS BY MR. YASUHIRO HAMADA

AMBASSADOR OF JAPAN TO ETHIOPIA

Dr. Amoako, distinguished guests, ladies andgentlemen,

It is a great honour and pleasure for me to be giventhis opportunity to speak on behalf of the Govern-ment of Japan at the opening ceremony of thisConference on Governance in Africa, co-organizedby ECA and DESA. The Government of Japanwelcomes the convening of this Conference andfinds it particularly timely. Promoting “goodgovernance” is one of the most important agendaitems for Japan as a country strongly committed tomaking every effort to support African develop-ment, along with our African and other partners.

Let me start by emphasizing that it is truly encour-aging to see that in the nineties a new wind ofpromise, based on the spirit of “ownership”, isgaining strength in Africa, which, like other partsof the world, has gone through dramatic changes ofenvironment. Although this wand may still bedescribed as only a “breeze”, we feel that everyday this breeze brings in fresh air and brightness.In this encouraging environment, “good gover-nance” has been attracting more attention than everas a very important guiding principle and anindispensable driving force for implementing“ownership”.

Despite this hopeful trend, we should also recog-nize that there remains a lot to be done to achievedevelopment, as well as stability, which is a pre-requisite for the former. Looking ahead to the 21stcentury, we have to accelerate our efforts to realizestability and development in Africa and therebyinclude this continent in the process of globaliza-tion, which is becoming prominent in every aspectof our society.

Mr. Keizo Obuchi, Japan’s Foreign Minister,

stressed at the Ministerial-level Meeting of theUnited Nations Security Council on the Situationin Africa, last November, that “peace anddevelopment are two sides of the same coin.Without development, the cause of conflict will notbe eliminated and without peace, the conditions fordevelopment will not be met.”

“Good governance” is indeed a key guiding prin-ciple that can encompass and bridge these twosides of the coin, as it provides transparency,efficiency, accountability and participatorydevelopment, on which we can build solid andaccountable institutions, which are indispensablefor both stability and development.

So much has already been said, and a lot of com-mitments, advice and suggestions have been madeabout “good governance”. As governance is anotion that can be extremely extensive and multi-faceted, the argument can sometimes become veryabstract or theoretical. In this connection, I amparticularly happy that one clear and tangible keyword, “institution”, has been set at this Conferenceto enable us to analyze more objectively anddiscuss more constructively this difficult theme.

I would like to commend the organizers of thisConference for two more reasons. First, thisConference is being organized in a manner thatwill give legitimate attention to the diversesituations of African countries. Second, theorganization of this meeting will allow participantsto have frank and in-depth debates by combining“roundtable discussions” and “workshops”, whichwill make it possible to share and learn frommutual experiences and generate common basicdenominators of “good governance”.

Regarding the first point, I would like to stress that

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we cannot emphasize too much that in order torespect the spirit of “ownership”, “good gover-nance” should be promoted through initiativestaken by individual countries on the basis of theirunique political and economic circumstances. Asfor the second point, we should not forget that“good governance” needs continuous efforts toensure openness in listening to the comments fromoutside and flexibility in learning from theexperiences of others. It is from this viewpoint thatJapan thinks highly of the initiative of ECA andDESA in providing this meaningful forum.

Mr. Chairman,

I am convinced that with your able guidance andthe participation of prominent figures, includingH.E. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, this Conferencewill be a great success with good results, to befollowed up by every actor interested in moving

African development forward. In this context, I ampleased to say that the outcome of this Conferencewill be a significant input to the discussions at theSecond Tokyo International Conference on AfricanDevelopment (TICAD II) to be held in October bythe Government of Japan, the GCA and the UnitedNations. At its Preparatory Conference lastNovember, governance was identified as one of themajor areas to be included in the Agenda forAction towards African Development to bediscussed at the Plenary, this October, withAfrican representatives and international partners.

With these remarks on the importance of contin-uous efforts and longer-term perspectives forpromoting “good governance”, let me conclude bywishing for very successful and fruitfuldiscussions.

Thank you.

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ANNEX IV

ADDRESS BYH.E. MR. WOREDEWOLDE WOLDE

MINISTER OF JUSTICEFEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA

Your Excellency Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, formerPresident of Tanzania and Convener of the Con-ference, Your Excellency Dr. Salim, Ahmed Salim,Secretary-General of the Organization of AfricanUnity, Your Excellency Dr. K.Y. Amoako, UNUnder-Secretary-General and Executive Secretaryof ECA, Your Excellency Mr. Guido Bertucci,distinguished participants,

I am very pleased and honoured to participate atthe opening session of this important Conference. Iwould like to join His Excellency Dr. Amoako inwelcoming you all to Addis Ababa to take part inthis Conference, which I have no doubt will be anexceedingly valuable exchange of views on asubject which is critical for Africa and our people.I would like to express my appreciation to Dr.Amoako and the ECA for having taken theinitiative to organize the Conference and toMwalimu Julius Nyerere for having agreed toconvene the meeting.

It would, of course, be remiss of me if I failed, atthe opening session of a Conference on a subjectsuch as this one, to pay tribute to MwalimuNyerere for the example he has been, and con-tinues to be, for integrity, honesty and for com-mitment to principles which, no doubt, makes all ofus proud. It is indeed very fitting that he is theConvener of this Conference because there are fewin our continent who are as deserving as he tospeak on the challenges of governance in ourcontinent with the requisite credibility andconviction.

There is virtually no aspect of public life which is

not affected by the quality of governance that asociety enjoys. It should not therefore be a sourceof surprise that this Conference is being organizedby ECA, whose mandate is strictly speakingeconomic. But whether it is economic challengeswe face, or social, security or other public and civilchallenges, the fact that the quality of governancewe have and enjoy has a vital bearing on all theseis absolutely undeniable.

Without good governance and the institutionalframework that underpins it, it is impossible to talkabout economic progress, social harmony, politicalstability and peace.

We all recognize the fact that here in our continent,most particularly within the framework of theOAU, it has been since 1990 that we have begun totalk with the required level of transparency andopenness about the challenges of governance thatAfrican faces. I wish to take this opportunity topay tribute to H.E. Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim forhaving taken the initiative in 1990 to prod theOAU to focus on this issue.

No doubt, the situation has changed in Africa overthe past few years and the noticeable improvementin the economic area since 1994 must be attribut-able partly to the progress we have been making inthe quality of governance in a growing number ofAfrican countries.

But this is not the time for self-congratulation andundoubtedly we have a long way to go before wecan claim to have in place in Africa the kind ofgovernance in all areas that would ensure econo-mic progress, social harmony and security.

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Most of all, the serious constraints that we havewith regard to the institutional foundations thatshould underpin quality governance based ongrass-roots participation are challenges that canhardly be addressed in a day. Commitment byleaders to democratic principles and to goodgovernance, although critical to progress in thissphere, is obviously far from being sufficient toensure that African societies are provided withgood governance. Accordingly, it appears to methat the focus of this Conference, which is theinstitutional foundation for consolidating gover-nance in Africa, is most fitting and mostappropriate.

We here in Ethiopia are of the firm conviction thatalong with genuine devolution of power from thecenter to the local level, grass-roots participationby the people in economic, political and socialdecisions that affect them directly, the existence ofappropriate and effective institutions of governanceand their strengthening is critical for the objectivesthat we have set for ourselves to ensure economicprogress, democracy and durable peace for our

people. In this regard, we are indeed encouraged bythe progress we have made over the past six yearsin all these areas. But we have a long way to go,particularly in the area of institution-building andconsolidation.

Progress in achieving good governance is not theresponsibility only of leaders and of those in posi-tions of authority. Those in civil society have theresponsibility to play a critical role in assisting thedevelopment of a culture of tolerance and con-structive debate and of a healthy dialogue as wellas in contributing to the building, strengtheningand consolidation of institutions of good gover-nance and structures for effective and meaningfuldemocracy, relevant to the vast majority.

I would like to conclude by saying how happy I amto take part in the opening session of this Con-ference, whose outcome will be awaited with keeninterest by all those who are committed to theregeneration of our continent and who long for anAfrica which will make its people proud.

I thank you.

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ANNEX V

ADDRESS BYDR. SALIM AHMED SALIM

SECRETARY-GENERALORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY

Your excellencies, distinguished participants,ladies and gentlemen,

I should like, at the outset, to express my apprecia-tion to the organizers for the kind invitationextended to me to participate in this importantConference. I am particularly grateful that thisConference is devoted to an issue which is crucialto our continent and which constitutes one of thepriority concerns of our organization. Indeed,reflecting on the state of governance in Africa at atime when we are preparing to usher the continentinto the next millennium is a very timely exercise.

Occasions like this give us an opportunity to drawlessons from the past, to take stock of our pastachievements and failures and to prepare Africa toassume its rightful place within the community ofnations. Indeed, democracy, governance, thepromotion and protection of human rights, as wellas respect for the rule of law, conflict managementand resolution are increasingly becoming the labelsthat sum up the political context of the currentpreoccupations of the people on this continent.

We, at the OAU, have since the adoption in 1990of the Declaration on Fundamental Changes in theWorld and Their Impact on Africa taken theseissues more forcefully and have increasinglydeployed efforts aimed at ensuring that they arekept at the center stage of our overall agenda forpeace, security, stability and development. Wehave done so with the full knowledge and con-viction that the process of democratization that istaking place on the continent will contribute to thecontinental efforts directed at strengthening theinstitutions of democracy and good governance.

We are convinced that without adopting thisapproach we may not be able to effectively addressthe critical issues of socio-economic developmenton the continent.

Indeed, good governance in Africa plays a catalyticrole in the design and implementation of a viablestrategy for economic recovery and developmentand for addressing peace, security and stability onthe continent. Such governance must be at thecenter of Africa’s development policies andstrategies. This is particularly so because goodgovernance is and must remain an integral part ofour agenda for peace and development in Africa. Itprovides the enabling environment for economictransformation and development as it also givesAfrica the necessary latitude and possibility foraddressing the scourge of conflict prevailing on thecontinent and building peace.

We, at the OAU, have and will continue to deployefforts aimed at providing the democratizationprocess throughout the continent. We have takenthis as one of the major challenges for our con-tinental organization in the years ahead. We aremore than convinced that the challenge facingAfrica at the end of the twentieth century is toforge ahead with the democratization process,strengthening the institutions of good governance,the building of peace and the promotion of socio-economic development. Needless to say, all theseissues are interrelated.

I have been requested to speak on the subject“Governance in Africa: Lessons Learned from thePast”. I would like to preface my remarks byasserting that based on the experience of most of

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our countries over the past several years, it ismanifestly clear that the process of democratiza-tion on the continent is irreversible. Indeed, theconcepts of democracy and good governance aregradually but steadily gaining root on the conti-nent. The OAU has been a witness of this trendand was invited to observe over sixty elections inMember States. Indeed, there is evidence to sug-gest that our leaders and our peoples are deter-mined to give democracy a chance to succeed.To do so, they need the support of our partners andfriends in the international community. However,these friends and partners should have the humilitynot to prescribe recipes for democracy in Africa.Their role should be one of supporting Africa’sefforts at democratization based on local realitiesand circumstances.

This is why we, at the OAU, have been working onthe assumption that while the fundamentalprinciples of democracy and good governance areuniversal, their application varies from country tocountry. On this understanding, African countriesare entitled to determine the application of demo-cratic government on the basis of their socio-cultural values, taking into account their specificrealities. Indeed, the dimensions of cultural valuesand historical experiences are relevant in the appli-cation and consideration of democracy in oursocieties. Africans as much as other people aspirefor liberty, human dignity, equity and socio-economic progress. But, while these are universalvalues, which are a common heritage of humanity,there are no ready-made recipes for democracy andgovernance. Each society should generate itshome-grown modalities for forging ahead indemocracy and good governance on the basis ofthese universally recognized principles.

Let me now attempt to reflect on the lessonslearned from the past. To us, the issues of democ-racy and governance in Africa are inseparable. Weare cognizant of the fact that the “new wind” ofdemocracy blowing across the continent both feedsour hope for the future and presents us withformidable challenges. It is my strong convictionthat the on-going democratization process on the

continent will lead to good governance and goodgovernance will ensure the sustainability of democ-racy in Africa. In this regard, good governancemust be seen as a generally accepted process thatrecognizes the centrality of the people in decision-making at all levels. Good governance must allowfor the full participation of the people in nationaldevelopment endeavors.

There are clear lessons in Africa to demonstratethat the people must be allowed to lead andmanage the process of development. In this regard,it is important that the government and the peopleshare common values and aspirations andcollectively address their common challenges.Indeed, governance in Africa must entail a processwithin which the people are empowered and havesufficient latitude to set out priorities for theirsocio-economic, political and other developmentalneeds.

Experience has also shown that governance inAfrica must be addressed in the context of statepower and authority. This is essentially becausethe manner and style in which the authority isexercised and managed defines the nature andscope of state power in relation to the governed. Inthis regard, the executive branch is key in buildingdemocracy and good governance. That is why it isimportant to recognize that, in the context of theexecutive as an institution of democracy,governance in Africa must be seen within theframework of the totality of the exercise of powerin the management of a country’s affairs. Thismust comprise the complex mechanisms, processesand institutions through which citizens and groupsarticulate their interest, exercise their legal rightsand mediate their differences.

In this regard, any rational debate on governance inAfrica should be predicated upon the basic valueof the need for the executive and other politicalfactors to recognize the limits of power. In ademocratic State, there cannot be life Presidents orleaders who hold power forever. In a truedemocratic State there is no one with absolutepower. This is in line with the old saying thatpower corrupts and absolute power corrupts

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absolutely. In a democratic State, it is recognizedand accepted that moderation and compromiseprovide room for a culture of tolerance to evolveamong the people. This, in fact, is a fundamentalbasis of a political bargaining. There are, indeed,lessons that Africa has learnt over the last thirty-five years of independence, especially on the needto promote a culture of peace and tolerance as wellas politics of inclusion rather than exclusion.

Beyond these lessons of the past, for democracyand good governance to flourish, there must be acommitment to live with and support plurality insocial and political life. Moreover, the notion ofdemocracy has always contained the notion ofequality. Equality, not in the sense of statistics ofincome or wealth, but equality of opportunity to allwithout consideration of ethnic, religion or politicalaffiliation, to realize one’s human capacitiesthrough generally acceptable means. Therefore, aswe discuss governance in Africa, let us explorehow best to promote these values and normsamong our governments and people, for it is clearthat democracy is here to stay.

In Africa the struggle for democracy was a strug-gle for freedom from colonialism and freedom toindependence and national sovereignty. It was alsoa struggle for freedom for the people of Africa todecide their own destiny. But as Africa movedfrom colonial rule to self-government, the post-independence struggles changed both in form andcontent. In some parts of Africa, the institutionsdesigned to promote and strengthen democracy andgood governance became by and large integralinstruments of the state power, legitimizing whatthe State wanted legitimized and constrainingpeople’s legitimate concerns about the nature oftheir State and government. The governorsseparated themselves from the governed and by sodoing they alienated the people. In other words, thegovernors lost their moral authority to govern asthey failed to respond to the demands andaspirations of the people. But they never acceptedto relinquish power. These institutions, supposedlyof democracy, sometimes proclaimed right whatthe State wanted and wrong what was not

acceptable to the State.

During this period the legislature in some parts ofAfrica had little latitude for action, preciselybecause of the nature of the electoral process andthe manner in which members of the house oflegislature were selected. This does not necessarilysuggest that the one-party-state democracies whichwere predominant during this period were wrong. Iam not trying to pass a verdict on the experience ofthe one-party system in Africa. Significantly theyprovided the opportunity to the newly emergingAfrican governments to experiment with a newsystem different from the colonial one. In fact, therequirements for the struggle for independencegenerally favored the emergence of a dominantsingle party or mass movement. This was in mostcases carried into the post-independence structuresas a one-party system, or at least as what is calleda system of single-party dominance, where oneparty has an overwhelming legislative majority anduses its legal, political and coercive power torestrict the competition of other parties.

Over the last years the legislature in Africancountries has undergone fundamental changes,especially with the shift from dominant single-party or mass movement to multi-party politics.It has been recognized that if democracy is the ruleor power of the people, then the legislature mustreflect and defend the will of the people.It therefore deprives itself of its moral authority ifit does not recognize the indivisible will of thepeople.

We cannot wish away certain historical facts ofour continent. In Africa there were, and still are,tribal, religious or ethnic divisions which havestood in the way of an overriding sense of nationalcommunity, thereby complicating the process ofmulti-party politics and with this, the functioningof the legislature. Indeed, these divisions havegiven rise to the proliferation of conflicts in Africaas they have given rise to opposing political partiesbased on tribal, ethnic or religious differences. Thenotion that a system of competing national partiesis the sensible and most beneficial way of choosingand authorizing governments is something Africa

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must pursue.

Democracy has often been described as the con-sumers’ sovereignty. The voters buy what theywant with their votes. Democracy in the broadsense requires not just equality, but also freedomfrom starvation and ignorance. A strong democ-racy should not create antagonism and hatredbetween winners and losers. Indeed, in a democ-racy winners must accept losers and losers mustrespect winners. One must ensure that politicalinstitutions are sufficiently strong and they cangenerate the participation and power necessary tohold the various institutions accountable.

At this stage, let me try to draw lessons fromAfrica’s experiences in the electoral process.Politics in Africa and elsewhere ultimately hingeson the relationship between governors and thegoverned. Often, the governors and the governedcannot be mingled. But, if we proceed from thepremise that in order to have democracy we musthave, to some degree, a government of the people,the question we might want to ask is when and howdo we know that the people are governing? We canonly know that the people are governing when theyspeak with their votes. Indeed, the democraticprocess in Africa and elsewhere is encapsulated inelections and electing.

It is generally accepted that elections verifyconsensus and do away with presumed orfraudulent consensus. However, we mustremember that elections are a discontinuousperformance and are not an end in themselves.Between elections the people’s power remainslargely quiescent, and there is also a wide marginof discretion, let alone discrepancy, between broadelectoral choices and concrete governmentaldecisions. Further, elections register the voter’sdecisions, but how are these decisions arrived at?Elections compute opinions, but where do theseopinions come from and how are they formed?What is the genesis of the will and opinion thatelections limit themselves to recording? Indeed,voting has a pre-voting background. While wemust not downgrade the importance of elections,we cannot isolate the electoral event from the

whole circuit of the opinion-forming process.

It is often said that electoral power per se is themechanical guarantee of democracy, but the sub-stantive guarantee is given by the conditions underwhich the citizen gets the information and isexposed to the pressure of opinion-makers. Ulti-mately, the opinion of the governed is the realfoundation of all government. If this is so, electionsare the means to an end, the end being agovernment that is responsive to and responsibletoward public opinion. We often say that electionsmust be free. This is true, but it is not enough, foropinion too must be in some basic sense free. Freeelections with unfree opinion is an exercise in vain.We say that the people must be sovereign. But anempty sovereign who has nothing to say, withoutopinions of his or her own, is a mere ratifier, asovereign in pro-forma.

Experience on this continent has clearlydemonstrated that while elections constitute acrucial stage in the democratic process, they do notby themselves provide sufficient conditions forbuilding democracy and good governance.Elections per se are not the panacea for democracyand good governance. In other words, the existenceof political parties, the conduct of free and fairelections and the performance of the legislatureunder the leadership of an elected government donot always turn governance into a democraticsystem. Beyond the electoral process, which iscrucial, we need to build institutions to sustaindemocracy and promote good governance.

We must accept that our legislative systems arestill fragile and weak. They need to be streng-thened, especially through capacity-building. Weneed to ensure that our members of the legislativebranch are properly represented on the basis ofconstituencies that have a national character andare not based on ethnicity or religion. Legislaturecan only be strong if the members of the legislatureare elected from strong parties with a sense ofcommitment to the nation. We need to strengthenthe quality of our political parties, especially thoseof the opposition, so as to strengthen the qualitiesof the members of the legislature. We also need to

38

provide support to the work of the legislature. Ourrepresentatives must be people of impeccableintegrity. They should vigorously pursue a nationalagenda and not an agenda that works after theirown narrow and selfish interests.

The various committees of the legislature mustalso be strong with the necessary technical back-stopping to address national issues. In the Africancontext, the question is whether members of thelegislature have the requisite resources to vigo-rously engage in a debate on the national issues,ranging from politics, to economics, security andnational defense. The question we might ask iswhether it is not possible for the members of thelegislature to rely more on the knowledge base ofthe institutions of higher learning and research.Otherwise, resources must be provided for mem-bers of the legislature to seek the informationwhich is necessary to make national decision andpolicies. How often do members of the legislaturemake their presentations on the basis of well-researched facts? Our representatives must have acertain level of education in order to digest theissues before the legislature.

The independence of the judiciary is crucial inbuilding good governance. Most judicial systems,especially those in the areas of conflict, have beendestroyed almost beyond redemption. We need torebuild our judicial system and strengthen its capa-city to effectively discharge its responsibilities. Wemust ensure that the judicial system is efficient, forjustice delayed is justice denied. The relationshipbetween police, security and judiciary must beproperly scrutinized. Arbitrary arrests and extra-judicial killings must stop. We should avoidpoliticizing the judiciary, for this is the only waywe can guarantee its independence. Again, experi-ence has shown that a strong judicial systemclearly provides the necessary framework andstrong foundation for good governance. Such asystem, representing one of the major democraticinstitutions, needs to be strengthened to functionmore directly and effectively towards promotinggood governance. We need to build in our coun-tries independent, efficient and strong judicial

systems which can guarantee the respect of the lawand render justice in accordance with the law.Clearly, one of the fundamental prerequisites forsuch a reliable and dependable judiciary is itsincorruptibility.

Since freedom of expression is a major factor in ademocratic State, an independent and responsiblemedia should emerge as a strong institution andassume the function of a watch-dog interfacingbetween the government and the people. The mediashould be on the forefront and make a specialeffort to champion the cause of popularparticipation and, indeed, provide access toinformation and educational programmes ondemocracy and governance. We need an indepen-dent but responsible media whose task is not onlyto inform as accurately as possible and to serve asa critic to the government but also to educate thepopulation on their rights.

Good governance also requires high standards ofintegrity and efficiency in the civil service. A civilservice that is over-staffed, underpaid, corrupt orethnically composed will not be able to optimallyplay the role of promoting democracy and goodgovernance. The civil service must be professional,competent, neutral and nationally committed.

Building good governance on the continent requiresalso that we focus on the areas of education andpublic awareness. Our people must be informed oftheir constitutional rights. They should be helpedto understand the constitution as a major institutionof democracy. The time has come when we mustconsider translating the constitution into thevarious languages to help the people understandtheir rights.

We need to develop teaching manuals for civiceducation. Our people must be informed andunderstand the major institutions of democracy andhow they can influence the working of theseinstitutions. I am convinced that education andpublic awareness are crucial in ensuring popularparticipation of the people in decision-making as amajor ingredient in democracy and goodgovernance.

39

Finally, I wish to submit that the challenge of goodgovernance is one of implementing the laws andregulations of a nation and translating them intoconcrete and practical acts. In all our countries, wehave wonderful constitutions. These constitutionsprovide for the equality of the citizens before thelaw, and yet this is not always the case. Theyprovide for equal opportunity for employmentregardless of the ethnic, religious or politicalbackground of an individual. Yet the reality isoften different. The constitutions do not allow fordomination by any group of national institutions.Yet the reality on the ground might be different andwe have a lot of examples on our continent.

Our constitutions are as good as any other consti-tutions in the world. Our laws are equally sound.The judiciary is supposed to be independent andthe police fair and accountable. In most of ourcountries, the laws and regulations provide forequal access to land and resources. Yet we knowthat in some cases, groups and individual affinitiesprevail over the general interest. We do haveinstitutions for control, such as constitutionalcourts, ombudsmen and other appeal courts andcommissions. Yet the situation in the field is quite

disturbing, as the rights of the citizens are oftenviolated and undermined.

I sincerely believe that the challenge of goodgovernance is one of reconciling the laws andregulations as they exist and their application inthe field. This has to do with the attitude of office-holders and other leaders. It has also to do with thehabits inherited from the past which have proveddifficult to get rid of. This requires that committedAfricans both from state institutions and the publicat large assume their responsibilities. I havealways considered fora like this one as importantopportunities to promote the cause of goodgovernance among the largest groups in thecontinent. But the challenge of good governancealso requires the active involvement of the peopleand their organizations within the civil society, forno right can be taken for granted. Our people mustfight for their rights and the application of theserights. The challenge of good governance istherefore one of building partnerships betweencommitted Africans and the ordinary people of thecontinent in forging a strong constituency fordemocracy and good governance.

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ANNEX VI

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Convener

H.E. Dr. Julius NyerereFormer President of the United Republic of Tanzaniac/o Mission of the United Republic of Tanzaniato the United Nations205 East 42nd Street, 13th floorNew York, N.Y. l0017Tel. 255-51-113-431Fax 255-51-112-790

ROUNDTABLE PARTICIPANTS

Dr. Amedou Ould AbdallahExecutive SecretaryGlobal Coalition for Africa1750 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Suite 1204Washington, D.C. 20006Tel. 202-458-4338/4272Fax 202-522-3259

Congressman Washington AbdalaPalacio LegislativoMontevideo, Uruguay Tel. 598-2-709-0860Fax 598-2-924-172

Dr. Mazlan AhmadDirector GeneralPublic Service DepartmentKuala Lumpur, MalaysiaTel. 603-293-8573Fax 603-292-8609

M. Abdoulaye BathilyMinistre de l’environnement et de la protection de la natureBuilding AdministratifB.P. 4055Dakar, SénégalTel. 221-821-12-40 221-276-937 homeFax 221-822.21.80 221-274-300

Mr. Gordon DraperMember of ParliamentBlock B3, Flagstaff HillPort of Spain, Trinidad and TobagoTel. c/o UNDP

Dr. Peter Harrison Privy Council of Canada 80 Wellington StreetOttawa, OntarioK1A OA3 CanadaTel. 613-837-9040Fax 613-837-8287

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Sir Ramesh JeewoolallSpeaker of the National AssemblyGovernment HousePort Louis, MauritiusTel. 230-464-5371Fax 230-212-8364

Prof. Walter J. KambaUniversity of NamibiaDean, Faculty of LawPrivate Bag 13301Windhoek, NamibiaTel. 264-61-206-36220Fax 264-61-206-37030e-mail: lawfac@unam.na

Mr. Yazew Assefa LibenFormer President of the Supreme CourtAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-122-347c/o Fax 251-1-51-95-48

M. William A. Eteki MboumouaChairman of Red CrossYaounde, CameroonTel. 237-20-25-92Fax 237-23-15-96/22-41-77

Ms. Florence MugashaMember of ParliamentParliamentarian Ave.P.O. Box 7178Kampala, UgandaTel. 256-41-234-340/6Fax 256-41-231296/245889

Prof. Rwekaza Symphoriani MukandalaUniversity of Dar es SalaamDepartment of Political Science andPublic AdministrationP.O. Box 35042Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaTel. 255-51-410-395Mobile. 255-0812-780-694Fax 255-51-43-078/43-395

E-mail: rwekaza@udsm.ac.tz

Hon Vernon Johnson MwaangaNational AssemblyP.O. Box 31299Lusaka, ZambiaTel. 260-1-223133/222664/222118Fax 260-1-220529/238397

Mr. Cyril NdebeleSpeaker of ParliamentHarare, ZimbabweTel. 263-4-700-181Fax 263-4-795-548

Ms. Ruth PerryFormer President of LiberiaPerry’s Drive Monrovia, LiberiaTel. 231-227-082(USA) 1-614-265-4696Fax 1-614-265-4825

Mme. Elisabeth PognonPrésidente de la Cour ConstitutionnelleCotonou, BéninFax 229-30-06-36 or 229-30-33-15 Tel. 229-315-992/873-8287

Mr. Nallepilly Ramakrishnan Ranganathan9th Street, Dr. Radhakrishnan RoadMylapore, Madras 4, IndiaTel. (91-22) 854 9212Fax (91-22) 204 1772

Dr. Salim Ahmed SalimSecretary GeneralOrganization of African UnityAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

42

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

BeninMr. Robert S. M. DossouHonorary Dean of Faculty of LawUniversity of BeninP.O. Box 1204Cotonou, BeninTel. 229-31-44-11Fax 229-31-42-09

Mr. Amadou Ousmane DialloPermanent SecretaryObservatoire des Fonctions Publiques Africaines04 B.P. 0595Cotonou, BéninTel. 229-30-33-68Fax 229-30-31-99

BotswanaDr. Margaret NashaMinister of Local GovernmentPrivate Bag 0060Gaborone, BotswanaTel. 267-354-182Fax 267-352-82/352-384

Mr. Stephen Tariro KokeraiLegal Office (Adviser)Southern African DevelopmentCommunity (SADC) SecretariatGaborone, BotswanaTel. 267-351-863Fax 267-272-848

Burkina FasoMme Françoise OuedragoDirectrice Générale de la Modernisation de l’AdministrationB.P. 7006Ouagadougou 03, Burkina FasoTel. 226-301-958; fax 226-314-155

CameroonMme Pauline BiyongPrésidentRéseau Africain pour la réduction de la pauvretéB.P. 12166Yaoundé, CamerounTel. 237-22-40-01/30-81-93Fax 237-22-40-01/23-14-53

Cape VerdeMr. Onésimo SilveiraMayor of St. VincentSt. Vincent, Cape VerdeTel. 238-324-088Fax 238-313-783

EthiopiaMr. Berhanu KebedeDirector GeneralInternational Organizations and Economic CooperationMinistry of Foreign AffairsP.O.Box 393Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-51 32 01Fax 251-1-51 43 00

Mr. Gabriel NegatuForum of African Voluntary Development Organization1511 K. Street, NWWashington, D.C. 20005, U.S.A.Tel. 1-202-387-7275Fax 1-202-393-7070

Mr. Tameru Wondm AgegnehuFormer Vice President of the Supreme Court of EthiopiaConsultant and Attorney-at-LawAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel./Fax 251-1-51-95-48

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Ms. Kelly Seifu YohanesExecutive DirectorHope for WomenP.O.Box 1509Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-16 26 40Fax 251-1-51 00 64 The GambiaMs. Zahra M. NuruResident RepresentativeUnited Nations Development ProgrammeBanjul, The Gambia

Mr. Tamsier Demba M’ByeSecretary-GeneralOffice of the President and Head of Civil SrviceBanjul, The GambiaTel. 220-228-339Fax 220-227-034

KenyaMr. Ludeki ChweyaUniversity of NairobiP.O. Box 30197Nairobi, KenyaTel. 254-2-334-244Fax 254-2-336-885

Mr. Peter WanyandeUniversity of NairobiNairobi, KenyaTel. 254-2-334-244 Ext.28171

LesothoDr. A. M. MarupingGovernorCentral Bank of LesothoMaseru, LesothoTel. 266-314-281Fax 266-30051/30557

LiberiaMs. Gloria ScottChief JusticeSupreme Court

Monrovia, LiberiaTel. 226071/227604

MalawiDr. Vera Mlangazna ChirwaMember of Parliamentc/o Malawi Centre for Advice, Research And Education on Rights (CARER)Blantyre 3, MalawiFax 265-636-007

MaliM. Ousmane SyConseiller spécial du présidentde la RépubliqueChef de la mission de décentralisation et des réformes institutionnellesB.P. E 1420Bamako, MaliTel. 223-240-680Fax 223-240-700

MauritaniaM. Ahmed Salem Ould BoubouttProfesseurUniversité de NouakchottNouakchott, MauritanieTel. 222-254-994 222-251-300Fax 222-253-146

MozambiqueJustice Luis A. MondlaneJustice of the Supreme CourtSupreme Court of MozambiqueP.O. Box 278Maputo, MozambiqueTel. 258-1-43-10-02/423-306Fax 258-1-42-06-97

Dr. Brazão MazulaRector of the University Universidade Eduardo MondlanePraça 25 de Junho Maputo, MozambiqueTel. 258-1-427-851

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Fax 258-1-426-426Email: bmazula@rei.uem.mz

NigeriaProf. L. Adele JinaduLagos State University262B Corporation DriveLSDPC Dolphin EstateOsborne Road, 1 KoyiLagos, NigeriaTel/Fax 234-1-2694413Tel. 234-1-688-296

RwandaMme Jacqueline MuhongayireVice-Présidente de l'Assemblée NationaleAssemblée Nationale de la République RwandaiseB.P. 352Kigali, Rwanda Tel. 250-849-20 /839-80 Fax 250-839-75/862-75

Sao Tome and PrincipeMme. Angela de Barros Lima Directrice du Cabinet du Ministre de laJustice, du Travail et de l’Administration PubliqueSao Tomé, Sao Tomé et PrincipeTel. 239-12-22-055/22-318 Fax 239-12-22-256

SenegalM. Babacar SineDirecteurInstitut africain pour la démocratieB.P. 1780Dakar, SénégalFax 221-8235-721

Mr. Souleymane Nasser NianeDirecteur de la fonction publiqueMinistère de la Modernisation de l’ÉtatDakar, SénégalTel. 221-823-5841

South AfricaMs. Mohau Pheko

NGO Secretariat for BeijingWomen’s National CoalitionP.O. Box 3977Johannesburg, South AfricaTel. 27-11-331-5959 DirectTel. 27-11-426-5440 Fax 27-11-331-5957 DirectFax 27-11-426-3690

Mrs. Nomonde KeswaChief DirectorCorporate ServicesEastern Cape Provincial GovernmentSouth AfricaTel. 27-401-99-25-25Fax 27-401-99-25-66Cellular. 27-82-574-3582

SwazilandMs. Fikile DlaminiP. O. Box 578Mbabane, SwazilandTel. 268-44301/2 (Off.); 20764 (Res.)

UgandaDr. John Mary KauzyaDeputy DirectorUganda Management InstituteP.O. Box 20131Kampala, UgandaTel. 256-41-256-176/259-722Fax 256-41-259-581

United Republic of TanzaniaMrs. Venus B. KimeiTanzania Non-governmental Organization (TANGO)P.O. Box 31147Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaTel. 255-51-114-014

Mrs. Rhoda Lugano KahatanoBox 31655Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Mr. Joseph W. Butiku

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Executive DirectorThe Mwalimu Nyerere FoundationP.O. Box 71000Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaTel. 255-51-119-216Fax 255-51-112-790

Ms. Lucie Andrew Luguga Assistant Resident Representative United Nations Development ProgrammeDar es Salaam, TanzaniaTel. 255-51-112-799/112-801Fax 255-51-113-272

Mr. Emmanuel ShayoConseillerP.O.Box 9000Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Mr. Noyce TnrewaConseillerP.O.Box 9000

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Mr. Simon Mohamed B.ConseillerP.O.Box 9000Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Mr. Jacky Mugendi ZokaP.O.Box 9000Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Mr. Kingunge Ngomeale MwiruPrime Minister's OfficeDar es Salaam, TanzaniaTel. 255-51-117269

ZambiaJustice Lombe ChibesakundaHuman Rights CommissionP.O. Box 33812Lusaka, Zambia

RESOURCE PERSONS

Dr. Ahmed Sakr AshourDirector-GeneralArab Administrative Development Organization (ARADO)Cairo, EgyptTel. 202-417-5410Fax 202-417-5407

Dr. Meheret AyenewAddis Ababa UniversityFaculty of Business and EconomicsAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 55-3900/11-72-78

Mr. Peter Burgess (UK)VP COFINA/Change Institute1173A Second Av. #221New York, N.Y. 10021, U.S.A.Tel. 1-212-772-6918

Fax 1-212-832-1586

Ms. Rameline KamgaPresident, COFINA10101 Grosvenor PlaceNorth Bethesda, MD. 20852, U.S.A.Tel. 1-301-493-5042Fax 1-301-493-2562

Mr. Tebogo Job MokgoroP.O. Box 188Rooigrond 2743South AfricaTel. 0140-873040Fax 0140-873293

Dr. Bruno MukendiWashington International Management Institute1050 17th Street

46

N.W. Suite 600Washington, D.C. 20036Tel. 1-202-776-0647; fax 1-202-463-0909

Dr. Fasil NahumAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

Prof. Georges Nzongola-NtalajaHoward University13702 Colgate Way, #1044Silver Spring, MD 20904, U.S.A.

Tel. 1-301-847-3477Fax 1-301-847-7497

Mr. Peter Quennell (New Zealand)PresidentThe Change Institute7004 Boulevard East #33Guttenburg, New Jersey 07093, U.S.A.Tel. 1-201-869-2931Fax 1-201-869-0813

OBSERVERS

Government Officials

AngolaAmbassador Toko D. SeraoEmbassy of Angola Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

CameroonAmbassador Jean-Ailaire Mbea MbeaEmbassy of CameroonAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

Dr. Churchill Ewumbue-MononoSecond CounsellorEmbassy of CameroonAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mr. Samuel Roger ZangEmbassy of CameroonAddis Ababa, EthiopiaFax 251-1-518-434

CongoMr. Casimir MpiereChargé d’affairesEmbassy of the Republic of CongoP.O. Box 5639Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Ms. Marie MboundziFirst Counsellor

Embassy of the Republic of CongoAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-51-41-8857EgyptMr. Khaled ElbaklyEmbassy of the Arab Republic of EgyptAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-55-30-77

EritreaH.E. Ambassador Girma AsmeronEmbassy of EritreaAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mr. Salih OmerFirst SecretaryEmbassy of EritreaAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-51-28-44Fax 251-1-51 28 44

EthiopiaMr. Assefa DamtewFirst SecretaryMinistry of Foreign AffairsP.O. Box 393Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-15-06-45/51-73-45

47

Dr. Zewdineh BeyeneFirst SecretaryMinistry of Foreign AffairsP.O.Box 393Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-15 89 29Fax 251-1-51 43 00

GabonMr. Emmanuel Mendoume-NzeAmbassador of the Gabonese RepublicAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mr. Gnangon MiembetCounsellorEmbassy of the Gabonese RepublicP.O. Box 1256Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-61-10-75

GuineaMme. Kadiatou DialloEmbassy of the Republic of GuineaAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-65-13-08

IranMr. DoutaghySecretaryEmbassy of the Islamic Republic of IranAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

JapanMr. Yasuhiro HamadaAmbassador of Japan to EthiopiaEmbassy of JapanAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mr. Masakazu Toshikage Regional Coordinator, First Africa DivisionMinistry of Foreign AffairsTokyo, JapanTel. 81-3-3581-2924

Mr. Naohiro HayakawaHead, Political Section

Embassy of JapanAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-51-10-88

Mr. Akio OdaniThird SecretaryEmbassy of JapanAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-51-10-88

Ms. Minako IshiharaEmbassy of JapanAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

Prof. Kazuyoshi AokiNihon Universityc/o Japan EmbassyAddis Ababa, EthiopiaFax 251-1-51-13-50

Prof. Hideo OdaKeiai University JapanTel. 81-43-486-6210; 81-43-486-2200

KenyaMr. James KiboiSecond SecretaryEmbassy of the Republic of KenyaAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-61-00-33

LiberiaAmbassador Marcus M. KofaEmbassy of the Republic of LiberiaAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

MaliMr. Acherif AgmohamedEmbassy of the Republic of MaliAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-71-26-01

Mr. Souleymane SidibeAmbassador to OAU from MaliAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

48

Tel. 251-1-20-15-28

MoroccoMr. Lehousine RabinouniEmbassy of the Kingdom of MoroccoAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

NamibiaAmbassador Eddie S. AmkorgoEmbassy of the Republic of NamibiaAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

NigeriaAmbassador Brownson N. DedeEmbassy of NigeriaAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

Russian FederationMr. Alexander KorsakovFirst SecretaryEmbassy of the Russian FederationAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

RwandaM. Eustache NkerinkaDéputé NationalAssemblée Nationale du RwandaB.P. 352Kigali, RwandaTel. 250-83180 250-83-980 250-86-275

Mr. Vincent NtambabaziSecond CounsellorEmbassy of the Rwandese RepublicAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

Dr. Joseph W. MutarobaEmbassy of the Rwandese RepublicAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-61-03-00

SenegalMr. Abdou Salam DialloConseillerEmbassy of the Republic of SenegalAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

South AfricaDr. Sandy ShawEmbassy of the Republic of South AfricaAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-71-30-34

SudanMr. Rahamtalla OsmanMinister PlenipotentiaryEmbassy of the Republic of the SudanAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

TunisiaMr. Mohamed Ali Ben AbidFirst SecretaryEmbassy of TunisiaAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-65-38-18Tel. 251-1-51-84-34

United Republic of TanzaniaH.E. Charles KileoAmbassadorEmbassy of the United Republic of TanzaniaP.O. Box 1077Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mr. George MwanjabalaMinister PlenipotentiaryEmbassy of the United Republic of TanzaniaP.O. Box 1077Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

ZambiaMr. Mwenya LwatulaEmbassy of the Republic of ZambiaP.O. Box 1709Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Zimbabwe

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Mr. Alex MasumbaParliament2221 33rd Cres, G.V.I.Harare, Zimbabwe

Non-Governmental Organizations

Mr. Ahmed MohiddinDirectorAfrica FoundationP.O.Box. 1639Accra, GhanaFax 233-21-776-055

Dr. M. A. WaliDirector GeneralAfrican Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD)Tangier, MoroccoFax 212-9-941-415

Mme. Christine DesouchesAgence de la Francophonie13 Quai André Citroën75015 Paris, FranceTel. 33-1-44373317Fax 33-1-44373345

Dr. Abdalla BurjaDirectorDevelopment Policy Management Forum Addis Ababa, EthiopiaFax 251-1-515-410

Mr. Tadesse BelayEthiopian Investment AuthorityAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

Dr. Meera SethiInternational Organization for Migration UNECA BLDG.P.O. Box 3005Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mr. John MdoeOrganization of African UnityAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

Prof. Kwame FrimpongSecretary GeneralSouthern African UniversitiesSocial Science Conference (SAUSSC)c/o Faculty of Social SciencesUniversity of BotswanaPrivate Bag 0022Gaborone, BotswanaTel. 267-355-2339Fax 267-356-591

Mr. Amadou LyTACTP.O. Box 60069Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-61-05-94Fax 251-1-51-46-82

Media

Mr. Takele AlemayehuReporter

Ethiopian News Agency (ENA)Woreda 15, Kebele 30, House No. 321

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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mr. Berhanu DawitReporterENAAddis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mr. Shewareged Bruck

Ethiopian RadioAddis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-71-11-11

Mr. Sisay Haile-SelassieJournalist (External Service of Radio Ethiopia)Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Others

Mr. Steve TetteyP.O.Box 15705Accra-North, Ghana

Mr. Codjovi Cyroaque DogueB.P. 2050 Cotonou, BeninTel. 229-31 52 32Fax 229-31 37 12

Dr. Alan F. FowlerP.O.Box 1261Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-15 25 41Fax 251-1-53 17 93

Mr. Sem TekleEthiopia Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-51-47-86

Engineer Techeste Ahderom866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 120New York, N.Y. 10017U.S.A.

UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATIONS

Department of Political Affairs

Mr. Taye-Brook ZerihounDeputy Director, Africa 1 Division

United Nations High Commission for Refugees

Ms. Kathrine StaruUNHCR Regional Liaison OfficerP.O. Box 1076Addis Ababa, EthiopiaTel. 251-1-61-28-22

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United Nations Development Programme

Ms. Carina PerelliDeputy DirectorManagement Development and GovernanceDivisionBureau for Policy and Programme Support

Dr. Soule FunnaRegional Bureau for Africa

Mr. Aamir MatinUNDP Governance FacilityIslamabad, PakistanTel. 925-1821816Fax 925-1279080

Ms. Joyce Mendi-ColeField Office, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Mr. Mamady Lamine CondeUNESCO Representative in Addis AbabaP.O. Box 1177Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

World Health Organization

Mr. A. Nunes CorreuaDirectorWHO Office for OAU/ECAAddis Ababa, EthiopiaFax 251-1-515178

ORGANIZERS

Economic Commission for Africa

Mr. K. Y. AmoakoExecutive Secretary

Mr. James NxumaloChiefDevelopment Management Division (DMD)

Mr. Ismail Ali IsmailSenior Public Administration OfficerDMD

Mr. Joseph SimelanePublic Sector ManagementDMD

Dr. Getachew DemekeCoordinator of the Civil SocietyParticipation and Development in Governance DMD

Mr. Pierre Demba

Mr. Mamadi Kourouma

Mr. B. Mapango

Mr. Ibrahima Barry

Mr. Sylvain Maliko

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Mr. Kaba Camara

Mr. Birane Cisse

Ms. Awa Fall

Mr. V. Bobrov

Mr. M.K. Mwango

Mr. Wondimu Alemayehu

Mr. Christophe Bandaogo

Mr. Taye Said

Mr. Mpekesa Bongoy

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Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Mr. Guido BertucciDirectorDivision for Public Economics and Public Administration (DPEPA)Tel. 1-212-963-5761Fax 1-212-963-9681

Ms. Itoko SuzukiChiefGovernance and Public Administration Branch(GPAB)/DPEPATel. 1-212-963-8418Fax 1-212-963-2916

Ms. Jeanne-Marie ColSpecial Technical AdviserGPAB/DPEPATel. 1-212-963-8377

Mr. Rukudzo MurapaInterregional AdviserGPAB/DPEPA

Mr. Mohamed Sall SaoInterregional AdviserGPAB/DPEPATel. 1-212-963-4503

Ms. Atnafu AlmazEconomic Affairs OfficerGPAB/DPEPATel. 1-212-963-8378Fax 1-212-963-2916

Ms. Yolande JemiaiPublic Administration OfficerGPAB/DPEPA

Mr. Abraham JosephSenior Adviser on UN-NADAF/UNSIAOffice of the Special Coordinator for Africa and the LDCsTel. 1-212-963-4839

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ANNEX VII

WORKING PAPERS

1. “Governance: The Africa Experience” by Prof. Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja.

2. “Building a Capacity for Governance: Some Lessons Learned” by Prof. B. Guy Peters.

3. “The Public Service and Development” by Mr. T. J. Makgoro.

4. “The Rule of Law and Political Liberalization in Africa” by Mr. Amedou Ould-Abdallah.

5. “Judicial and Quasi-Judicial Review of Administrative Decisions” by Dr. Fasil Nahum.

6. “Enhancing the Responsiveness of the Public Services to the People through Parliamentary Control ofAdministration” by Dr. Meheret Ayenew.

7. “How African Government May Create Fast Economic Growth” by Mr. Peter M. Quennell.

8. “Promoting Investment in People and Communities” by Ms. Rameline Kamga.

9. “Developing New Capacities for Improved Management of the Public Sector in Africa” by Dr. T.Bruno Mukendi.

10. “Performance Measurement in Government Organizations” by Dr. Ahmed Sakr Ashour.

11. “High Performance Government Financial Management in Africa” by Mr. T. Peter Burgess.

12. “Inter-Active Governance: A Social-Political Perspective” by Dr. Jan Kooiman.

13. “State and Civil Society in Africa: Nurturing a Functional Relationship between Citizens and StateInstitutions” prepared by the Economic Commission for Africa