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Prospects for Peace and Good Governance in Three African States
Eli Mechanic
Extracted from Partnership Africa Canada's bi-monthly Newsletter 'Dialogue' for January/March 2005
February 25, 2005

http://www.pacweb.org/e/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=102&Itemid=105

In a speech in Dar es Salaam, the author Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja told an anecdote about the late Congolese dictator Mobutu Seso Seko: "In 1991, when aides came to inform him that President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia had lost the presidential election, [Mobutu] is said to have responded as follows: 'How stupid! How can you lose an election that you organize?'"

This story provides an illuminating glance at the state of African governments today. On the one hand, Mobutu's contempt for his colleague's inability to rig an election re-affirms the continuing stereotype of corrupt despots grimly holding onto power. Yet the fact that Kaunda's decades old rule was ended by democratic elections, and the fact that Zambia's democracy, while extremely fragile, has lasted, shows the other side of Africa, which is increasingly the reality. The end of many long-simmering conflicts along with new governments, new democracies and new regional institutions are now providing hope for many that good governance can happen in Africa. Examining Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Angola will show both the opportunities for good governance and for the dangers facing states emerging from conflict.

There is a major difference between "governance," "democracy" and "good governance," the understanding of which will be crucial for the future of African nations. Governance by itself is simply the process that public institutions use to conduct public affairs and manage resources. It essentially refers to the manner in which governments exercise power, and can be either positive or negative for the average citizen. Democracy is one form of governance, of course, but elections are not necessarily any better than the form of governance that Mobutu chose, as pre-determined "democratic elections" in places like Cameroon are showing.

"Good governance" requires more than rigged elections. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), good governance has the following key attributes: transparency, responsibility, accountability, participation and responsiveness to the needs of the people. The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) adds that the rule of law must be followed, corruption minimized, and the views of minorities, women, and vulnerable segments of society must be taken into account. The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), asserts that democracy is a crucial component of good governance, with the core components including "political pluralism, allowing for the existence of several political parties and workers' unions, and fair, open and democratic elections periodically organized to enable people to chose their leaders freely." A final piece, says the African Union (AU), is the vigorous participation of a vibrant civil society, including non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations.

Can the theory of good governance become a reality in countries such as Burundi, the DRC and Angola? The answer is a guarded yes; but only if there is major domestic and international will to succeed. The first step towards good governance requires the end of conflict. Major challenges remain, however, and it remains to be seen how far peace will go.

Burundi may finally be breaking free of civil war induced violence. The conflict in Burundi most recently started in 1993 after Burundi's Tutsi led government was voted out of office by the 85 percent of Burundians who are Hutu. The Tutsi dominated army responded by assassinating the new president, setting off a ten-year cycle of revenge between Hutu and Tutsi, which spread to neighboring Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC (it is worth noting that the conflict between Tutsi and Hutu was an originally largely artificial one fueled by European colonialists). In November 2003, the three main factions of the conflict in Burundi agreed to end the war. This peace-accord shows some signs of a beginning of good governance. The planned government will be multiparty and include both Tutsi and Hutu dominated parties. Yet, as the last Burundi election showed, legitimate elections without guaranteed security can still fail. Unfortunately, even these barest of beginnings for good governance are being overshadowed by continued strife, with the August 13 massacre of hundreds of Congolese refugees in Gatumba, Burundi being the most serious.

This slaughter has dangerous implications for the DRC, which is also emerging from almost a decade of war, which left over 3 million dead and was sparked by a combination of factors including the deterioration of Mobutu's regime and ethnic genocide between Hutu and Tutsi. In December 2002, a comprehensive power sharing agreement was concluded in Pretoria, South Africa, between most of the armed factions who were fighting in the DRC. An interim coalition government was formed with the goal of national elections in 2005 and total disarmament of rebel fighters and retrieval of foreign troops.

There are some positive signs of developing good governance in the DRC, such as the major increase in CSOs throughout the nation. Women are participating in Parliament, though at low numbers, and human rights are slowly gaining ground. Multiple parties make up the government, and elections are still planned for sometime in 2005. However, according to the International Crisis Group, the transitional government is limited both by lack of resources and the damaging political maneuvering by key players who wish to gain power during the elections. This failure of good governance has also manifested itself in the lack of rule of law and stability, which remain a major problem for the DRC. High levels of sexual violence occur daily, ethnic strife has erupted in the eastern city of Bukavu, which fell to Rwandan-backed Congolese rebels in June 2004, and major tensions over Congolese diamond miners in Angola remain. Fear that the transitional government was collapsing was slightly less ened when one of the main rebel parties, the Rally for Congo Democracy (RCD), returned to the government after leaving it in protest.

Angola has had its own share of conflicts within and by intervention in its neighbouring states. Warfare has been a way of life for many Angolans for over 40 years since the independence movement. In 1975 the Communist-backed MPLA gained control after independence, but was opposed by the American and South African supported UNITA. Only in February 2002, with the death of UNITA's leader by the hand of government troops, did the bloody conflict between these two factions truly end. Meanwhile, however, Angola has been involved in the conflict in the DRC, vying for its rich diamond fields, and in 1996 militarily assisted the return to power of Sassou Nguesso in the Republic of Congo. Recently, the Angolan government dispelled (and often killed) hundreds of thousands of Congolese diamond miners, threatening to inflame tensions between the two countries.

Despite these problems, Angola in some ways may be in the best position out of the three nations. Multiparty elections are planned for 2006. An encouraging development was a major strike in April 2003 by various professional and workers' groups to protest poor pay and conditions. Students also demonstrated and then University staff joined in. After 45 days the government agreed to a salary increase. Improved resources have led to small advances in the criminal justice system and human right defenders, journalists and political activists have increasingly been able to exercise their right to monitor and criticize the government. Major corruption and a host of other problems still bedevil Angola, but there appears to be hope.

Examining concepts of good governance show how far Burundi, the DRC and Angola have to go. The daunting crisis facing each country make many say that good governance can never happen in parts of Africa. However, Africans do not want war any more than people from other continents. Europe was once dominated by warfare, and only a generation ago more people were killed by a factor of ten than in all of Africa's conflicts. Peace, and eventually good governance can happen in Burundi, the DRC, and Angola, if their peoples and the peoples of the world decide those are their true goals.

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