AFRICA is classified as the poorest continent in the world. Out of the 75 least developed countries, 52 are in Africa. Illiteracy, hunger and disease have become the bane of the majority of the people.
This sad situation is a direct reflection of several factors, including political instability, conflicts, wars and leadership failure. The continent has a sad record of dictatorship, tyranny, abuse of human rights, corruption and maladministration.
Briefly put, Africa’s problems could be attributed to poor governance. The question is, how can the continent extricate itself from poverty and poor governance?
It was in response to how Africa could lift itself out of its predicament that nine years ago the leaders on the continent took a bold initiative to come up with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which captured the vision and strategic development framework for the continent.
A major component of NEPAD is the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), which enjoins member countries to adopt policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth and sustainable development through sharing of experiences and enforcement of best practices.
The APRM does not only underscore the new political will of African leaders but also challenges the citizenry and other stakeholders to act responsibly.
Ghana was the first African country to accede to the APRM and subject itself to be peer- reviewed by African leaders. Ever since, the country has continued to take steps to deepen the process of good governance and ensure best practices.
In spite of the modest successes achieved so far, there is still more room for improvement and nobody can run away from that.
Indeed, Vice-President John Mahama hit the nail right on the head when he told a two-day sub-regional conference on the APRM in Accra that “there cannot be accountability in Africa if there is a deliberate exclusion of the mass of the people from the governance process”.
The involvement of people in any endeavour is paramount to its success. Democracy, after all, is a system of government of the people by the people and for the people. The ultimate aim of any political system and good governance should be the benefit and welfare of the people.
Luckily, the government has made a conscious effort to involve citizens in the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the various processes to achieve good governance. No doubt, the nation’s credentials in governance have won the admiration of the world at large.
However, there is still room for improvement. The challenges confronting the decentralisation process, especially the malfunctioning of the unit committees are all issues that need to be critically examined to give true meaning to our quest for good governance and broaden the base of political participation.
Having said so, the DAILY GRAPHIC urges other African countries, particularly those still in the dark days, to borrow a leaf from the modest gains made by our dear country and other progressive nations on the continent to involve the people in governance from the very grass roots and turn things around for the better in their respective countries.
In this time and age, it is sad and regrettable that so many African countries are still engulfed in wars, chaos and utter confusion, mainly from political blunders. The situation is certainly not good for the image of the continent, for it stalls any attempt to make significant progress.
Therefore, African leaders must put their act together and prosecute their mandate of ensuring the political and socio-economic well-being of their people.
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