Dear Africa, presidential term limits is not democracy

[bukoba boy]

It is has become obvious that the discussion on democracy in Africa has become solely about presidential term limits. Going a step further, it seems power grabbing and bad leaders are an African problem. Shall Africa accept this false characterization? What is our responsibility?

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to speak on RFI’s Appel sur l’actualité on the referendum on presidential terms limits happening the next day in Rwanda. I didn’t get a chance to say what was on my mind, so I decided to write instead. Dear Africans, do not be duped, presidential term limits is not democracy.

What do I mean? Having a president who has a limit of two terms is not a guarantee that he or she will accomplish anything worthwhile in power. If the sole gauge of a successful term in office is respecting term limits, why is Europe not following its own advice?

Africa is not the bedrock of bad governance, dictators or corruption. On RFI, host Juan Gomez asked, “How can we put an end to this ‘African’ tendency of power grabbing…” And all the Africans on the call chimed in, “Yes, we must stop these African leaders…” I felt like I was reliving the partition of Africa. Does Africa have bad leaders? Yes, we have had some incompetent, corrupt leaders. So has Italy, Greece, Japan, Brazil, Canada, the US, Germany, France etc.

There is nothing that bothers me more than Africa accepting to be told who we are, what we should do, and what our limits are. The last time that happened, we were being colonized. Should African leaders be held accountable for their leadership? Absolutely. Should citizens rise up to demand the leadership they deserve? Most certainly, in fact, those examples are rarely spotlighted – like what happened in Burkina Faso or Senegal before that. Even Burundi, as complex as the situation has become, is about the people rejecting a self-proclaimed incompetent president.

I feel like we need a monthly lesson in African history given from [independent] African voices. Has the West brain washed us into thinking we didn’t have highly structured, efficient governance systems before they “discovered” us. In Rwanda, we certainly did. And using the Church, the German then Belgian colonizers convinced us (forcefully) that ours was a primitive system needing saving and the consequences of this are buried in graves across the country.

Beyond term limits

The issue isn’t how many terms but what you do with those terms. Like one Facebook commentator said, “What is the point of serving two terms, everyone claps for you for leaving and then you leave the country in billions of dollars of deficit that you and your cronies have carved up and stolen, with the support of the West?” Yes it is not always the case, but I think it is time that as Africans, individually and collectively, we ask ourselves, what is our responsibility in all of this? And what can we do going forward?

I don’t buy the argument that we can’t do anything about it. Thomas Sankara was a man like us. Even colonialism seemed impossible to overcome and some days, I wonder if we will ever get over the mountain of neo-colonialism, but the point is, we are not helpless.

In Rwanda, we have taken off the shackles of helplessness. I have said this before, we have many challenges but we reject being lectured to about things we know better than anyone else. Our President and his government have succeeded in rebuilding the nation under impossible circumstances. I was in a meeting a year ago, and a local leader said that everything was fine in his area and it wasn’t. Children were severely malnourished. After the statement, President Kagame showed pictures that had been taken without the knowledge of the local leader and I will never forget his words, “Shall we boast about progress when our children are hungry?” That is leadership. Africa needs leadership.

What is democracy?

I could give you a hundred examples but let me quote a young man who called into a radio program the day before the referendum, “My relationship with government starts and ends with service provision, if President Kagame’s government has done this, even beyond our expectations, why should we not be allowed to vote for him again. Shall the US dictate to us how to live? Shall France tell us what to do? That time has passed.”

Democracy is governance by the people for the people and for the last two centuries, everyone but Africans has decided what this means. Don’t get me wrong, we share some of that responsibility but now is the time, we are that generation that should define who we are not in response to stereotypes but drawing from history and looking to the future.

Rwandans are not being duped, they are exercising strategic wisdom. I actually wanted the new draft constitution to completely take off term limits, which have become a tool for manipulation and distraction, but Parliament decided to keep the two term limit with a seven year transition.

I want you to think for a minute, say term limits are not an issue like in Germany or Canada, what then are the checks and balances to power? Decentralization, inclusive economic policies, accountable governance mechanisms like performance contracts, robust civil service, independent judicial system, an empowered Parliament, an active civil society, media etc. Where are the discussions about this? Because these are the areas where Rwandans have spent most of their energy in the last twenty years, albeit imperfectly, and where much more effort has to be spent.

In this globalizing world, where Africa is the last frontier of exploitation, only leaders and countries focused on inclusive, strategic policies and interventions will survive. Africa, please don’t drown in poisoned poetic rhetoric about the democracy of others that we can’t seem to have; we need action, we need leaders.

Choose leaders who will better your life, speak against inequality (African resources are feeding the whole world while we go hungry) and who owe nothing to neo-colonialists. Hold those leaders accountable and if there aren’t any, then it is time for you to run for office. This is the Africa I want.

It is not utopia, it will take sacrifice – even death. Are we willing to pay the price?

Source: thisisafrica.me

 

[jerrytz]

Well narrated, i agree with the writer on one thing; no matter how long or short the presidential time limit is, it will not in any way guarantees the well being of the country and the citizens as whole.
It has been proved especially in Africa, no matter how many times yo change the presidents the condition of the country remains the same (POOR ECONOMIC POLICY,POOL BASIC HEALTH CARE SERVICES ETC)
It is time now for the African to demand for the higher democracy where the leaders are accountable not in keeping the presedential office terms but to deliver services to the people.

 

[KikulachoChako]

Kwa kiasi fulani nakubaliana na mleta mada...lakini lazima tukumbuke kuwa tatizo kubwa la viongozi wa afrika ni ubinafsi na uroho wa madaraka....kuwa na mihula ya kiuongozi inawafanya au kuwawezesha wananchi kujitafari upyaa kwa maana serikali iliyopita imewafanyia nini na kipi ambacho hakijatekelezwa....hio huwapa fulsa kuangalia je unastahili kuendelea kuwaongoza au wamchague mwingine....na vile vile uwepo wa mihula kwa namna moja au nyingine inaifanya serikali iliyopo madarakani kuwajibika kwa wapiga kura wake ipasavyo kwani wanajua kuwa wananchi wananchi wana uwezo wa kuwaondoa kipindi cha uchaguzi.....jambo la msingi sio kuwa na ukomo wa uongozi au kutokuwa nao bali la msingi kuwa viongozi wa kiafrika wanatakiwa kubadilika na kuwa wazalendo kwa nchi zao na sio kuyatumia madaraka kwa manufaa yao na familia zao.....tumesikia kashfa mbali mbali za viongozi wa kiafrika kujilimbikizia mali huko ulaya huku wakiyaacha mataifa yakiogelea kwenye lindi la umasikini kama sio ufukara.....hata hicho kidogo wanachokitoa kwenye jamii ni baada ya wao kukinai na sio kwa mapenzi yao kwa nchi zao na ndio maana wazungu hawaishi kututukana.....

 

[bona]

first thing first, term limit ni must na muhim sana kwa africa.

kwanza lazima tujue kwa africa tuko nyuma sana hata ktk hilo linaloitwa demokrasia mambo basic kabisa hayafanyiki kwa mfano hata hao viongoz wa kiafrica wanaojifanya wameleta maedneleo wengi hawawez kustand strong opposition wanatumia nguvu ya dola, jeshi, polisi na taasis zote za serikal kukandamiza huo upinzan hata uchaguz unapofika inakua vigumu kujua kama chama tawala kimeshinda kwa kupendwa au technic kama nlizozisema apo juu.

viongoz wengi wa africa ni wabadhirifu wa kutupwa na wanajilimbikizia mali hakuna kiongoz yoyote hapa east africa asiye na mali kupindukia, angalia jk, museven, nkurunziza, kagame etc so hata maana ya kuleta maendeleo inakua haina maana kama kagame anavyojitapa ni kweli ameleta maendeleo lakin ni kiongoz mwiz kama wengine ametengeneza crony capitalims ya hatari kupitia kampun yake na washkaj zake inaitwa crystal venture.

ukatili uliopitiliza, viongoz wengi wa africa ni wauaj wazur tu hasa wapinzan wao so hatuwez sema africa tuje na version nyingine ya demokrasia, mleta mada uymeongelea hata ulaya pia walikua na viongoz wabovu yes kweli walikua nao ila kwa sasa hawana na africa tunao infact almost all african leader are that bad so situation ni tofauti sana.

hakuna election rigging ulaya, ila africa kila nchi chama tawala ndio mabingwa wa kuiba kura na wako tayar hata waue tu kuhakikisha wanabaki madarakan.

africa dhana nzima ya kiongoz mzur ni ngumu sana kuipima kwa sababu media zote zinakua state controlled, independent journalism wanasakamwa kuuawa au kufunguiwa magazeti na vyombo vyao vya habari inabaki vile vilivyo na muelekeo wa sycophantic tu zinasifia tu ruling part.

so to sum up, africa inaitaj term limit more than ever na has kuzuia trend ya viongoz wengine wa africa kudhan kua wanaweza kubaki madarakan kama eti wanapendwa!!!