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Good governance in Africa
Allan Savory
August 24, 2007

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Introduction

Zimbabwe is in trouble having repeated the pattern of other post-independence African states. But consider this: The great castles of Britain were built only after the end of Roman colonization, when English war lords battled for supremacy, and kings murdered brothers, wives and others over the centuries to achieve the same end. Only painfully and slowly did the British people bridge the gap between tyrannical leaders and democratic ones to enjoy the democratic freedoms they and millions of immigrants from former colonies enjoy today. In Africa we are trying to bridge this gap in a few decades, and at a time when flaws in Western democracies are leading increasingly to environmental degradation that few would associate with their political systems. And yet they are closely linked.

Until all people feel free, secure and well governed none are. Poor land leads inevitably to poor people, poverty, violence, political instability and genocide. These two beliefs have dominated my adult life as a fourth-generation African scientist born in Zimbabwe. Such beliefs led me into political life briefly and then into exile. While the connection between the health of the land and political, social and economic stability was for years denied by most nations, it is now increasingly acknowledged. For Africa it is important to acknowledge that the health, stability and productivity of our land is as fundamental to stable government as is social justice.

As a former political ally of Mugabe, Nkomo, Tongogara, Zvobo, Edson Sithole, Dabengwa, Chinamano and many other leading Zimbabweans of all colours and tribes in our struggle for democracy and independence, I know our dreams have gone astray. I also know that when we worked together in Switzerland toward the final stages of our long war we were simply Zimbabweans regardless of colour or tribe with a common aim of gaining our independence as a proud and democratic nation. We have run our ship onto the rocks for many reasons, some of the major ones beyond our control as I explain in this paper. Now once more we have a common aim in working together to get our ship of state off the rocks, upright and proudly afloat. We are not a nation of beggars and we can provide leadership for Africa and beyond.

Although rich in resources, many African nations are so financially run down and dependent on foreign aid that they are hardly independent. While the political leaders and parties that led their nations to independence have generally been blamed I believe that blame is misplaced. When a similar fate has befallen most fledgling African democracies, and when changing the party in power has, at best, resulted in marginal improvement in people's lives with continued dependence on foreign aid, it suggests there might be a deeper cause for democracy's dismal performance in Africa. The fact that so many countries have experienced the same problems, and that even the economic powerhouse of South Africa is heading down Zimbabwe's path, suggests there might be something wrong with the democratic system inherited by African nations. Blaming individuals or parties in power, rather than looking at the deeper causes is neither constructive nor likely to lead to good governance.

The views I express have been gestating over fifty years and especially in the last thirty years following my service in Parliament. I am apolitical and entered Parliament in desperation to fight racism, environmentally-destructive policies, and to try to end an insane war. To the opposition party that I subsequently led, I consistently stressed that I was only a wartime leader and would withdraw from politics as soon as we could end the war and gain our independence. The reason for my refusal, despite requests, to continue in politics was simply that I knew that ensuring good governance was beyond my capacity or understanding. It has taken the last thirty years for me to understand what prevents good governance in any nation and thus what could be done to achieve it.

In this paper, I outline new scientific insights that explain why it has proven so difficult for any government of any form to provide good governance. And I explain the shortcomings of Zimbabwe's inherited political belief system as well as the parliamentary and civil service structures that flow from it. These shortcomings made the troubles experienced in Africa's fledgling democracies inevitable - no matter who was leading them. Zimbabwe cannot extricate itself from its troubles, no matter how well intentioned its present or future political leaders might be, unless Zimbabweans think afresh.

I sincerely believe that the suggestions I offer have the potential, in Zimbabwe's case, to quickly produce governance superior to that of older democracies, and from which they might learn. These suggestions could lead to a Zimbabwean internal solution in which there are mostly winners and few losers and that can be embraced by most of my countrymen and women. While focusing on my own country I am aware that other nations, such as South Africa and Namibia, which are moving down the same path as Zimbabwe, could also produce similar results.

The ideas I express are not intended to offend any individuals in any political party but are offered in the hope of encouraging open and fresh discussion to help lead us to a better future and to do so quickly.

While concerned with Africa, and in particular Zimbabwe, I draw parallels with the U.S. and other nations for the lessons we can learn. What is it that prevents even the best of well meaning politicians from providing consistently good governance in any nation and not just my own?

The level of environmental destruction evidenced in world wide desertification and now global climate change, combined with rising populations and aspirations will demand a greater need for good governance than any time in history. I hope the ideas put forward here will encourage discussion and fresh thinking in countries other than Zimbabwe and among people other than politicians. Just as the finest candle makers could never have thought of, or developed, electric lighting, so too politicians are unlikely to see the solutions that ordinary people see with clarity.

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