Political accountability in Africa

Accountability is Africa’s greatest political obstacle. All our challenges stem from that. While it is undeniable that the negative impact of colonialism remains relevant to Africa’s economic and political institutions, we are also witnessing postcolonial policy decisions inspiring a rapid and heart-breaking collapse of the continent’s hopes and aspirations in modern history.

The heart-breaking part of postcolonial Africa is that the average person remains marginalised from governing; former liberation movements have purposefully turned their ideologies into government policy and effectively appropriated all the power. These organisations are not accountable to the public but themselves.

For people to self-rule, they must know what their government is doing, yet the so-called independent African states represent only the interests of the propertied classes.

Meanwhile the public remains handicapped and will not receive all the benefits of political independence until people turn the environment into a conducive and progressive platform for the exercise of real independence. History teaches us that accountability, not inspired excuse, is that essential platform that will build the response-ability of society.

Colonial trauma does not excuse the political dysfunction, neither does it excuse corruption nor cover for lack of protections from the damaging effects of poverty for the poor in Africa nor excuse the toxic overreaching behaviours of those in power. Once we got the political independence, it became our responsibility to recover from the colonial effects. It is called accountability.  

Living on the knees is not an option the public must take lightly. The public must demand more of themselves and seek to extract all the benefits from politics. Public officials must be reminded every day that they do not own the public, but they have been mandated by the public to carry out essential political responsibilities in a nonpartisan manner for the benefit of society. Political accountability acts as a mechanism through which the ethos behind public officials’ actions and decision-making can be monitored. 

Redistribution of power and delegation of responsibility are of essence for the African political and economic space to thrive. Power in the hands of a few powerful individuals in society coupled with undue influence of corporations, and lobby groups in a world and the effective marginalisation of the average citizen from decision-making processes poses real problems for political accountability in the independent Africa.  

We live in a world where the average person is increasingly demotivated to participate in politics because he/ she does not relate with systems in place; where political representatives are not accountable to the electorate because they are beholden to a few powerful men and women in society, wealthy lobby groups, etc; rather, they present the executive branch of government’s interests to communities and never truly represent community interests to government.

Instead of the simplistic blaming of the average person for political apathy, society must direct more resources in appreciating the reasons for political apathy. We must care to understand why the best brains in the African continent are politically disengaged and will instantly take offers to leave the continent and offer their expertise abroad.

The reality of postcolonial Africa is that the average person is less motivated in democratic voices because there is no sense of purpose in participating in them. Public participation in politics does not alter the political trajectory toward public interest. There are no real discussions of significance with power, it all seems like things are decided in advance elsewhere and the public is expected to vote on it.

It therefore comes as no surprise that the public will vote with their feet. However, caution is advised, evidence indicates that voting with our feet is the kind of apathy and passivity that our former liberation movements-turned governments rely upon. The space left by the aggrieved public is occupied by sycophants who help push the former liberators’ agenda unchallenged.

A change in the psyching of the average citizen is fundamental to broader changes in the African political enfranchise. Instead of voting with our feet, let us resist and fight disenfranchisement; fight with ideas to break the extant power monopoly of certain classes and tribes.

We must ensure that voting systems change so public participation in elections is not just performative but a route to meaningful change to power. The public, not those in power, must decide the nature and extent of their political participation. Right now, demanding that we put a cross on a piece of paper, to indicate our trust in representatives who can do what they like for pre-determined years, is the sole political duty of the “citizen”. We must demand more.

The concept of the best possible version of Africa is not merely an intention; it is an action. It is the daily practice of taking full responsibility for our thoughts, choices, behaviours, and actions. A high information Africa is important, so we have the agency to change those faulty institutions whose design is to keep certain population groups oppressed.