|
Page 1 of 2 Democracy has become a major preoccupation for the peoples of Africa as a means to put an end to human rights abuses and bring about good governance, peace and prosperity to the war-ravaged and poverty stricken peoples of Africa.
Of course, the concept of democracy as a government of the people, for the people, by the people has attracted the attention of the peoples of Africa. The political, social and economic transformations which have taken place in the 90’s in the countries of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ghana, South Africa etc. have been important events which have given great hope for the peoples of Africa. In the efforts of African leaders to introduce democracy, good governance, peace and prosperity for their people, the Western countries have given billions of dollars in development aid to the newly formed governments in Africa.
As a result, important democratic transformations have been introduced in most of these countries. In South Africa, a national reconciliation conference has brought about a peaceful transition of power thereby setting an exemplary precedence to other African countries. Though we are yet to witness the work of other committed leaders in other parts of Africa, these countries have one thing in common. Most of these countries have laid the groundwork for democracy by introducing multiparty system, the constitution and conducting multiparty elections. However, they have not been able to solve the problems of famine, poverty, disease, ignorance and bring about prosperity to the people they are ruling. In fact, contrary to the development project they claim to have undertaken, the people of these African countries are becoming impoverished each passing day. Most of these leaders have become preoccupied with amassing personal wealth under the pretext of promoting democracy.
What is more, a plethora of African governments which claim to be democratic are doing everything at their disposal to slow down the tide of democratic movements in the continent because of their desire to remain in power. African leaders seem to forget that poverty, economic mismanagement, political repression and corruption are the major reasons which lead to popular reforms in Africa. It is to be recalled that the pro-democracy movements of the 1990s have swept away African dictators because they were not able to respond to the economical and political needs of the people of Africa. The?1990s provide a vivid demonstration of the fact that African citizens are committed to democracy. Since then Africa embraces democracy and democratic values as an important precondition to promote human rights.
On the other hand, the peoples of Africa and the international community are doing their best to encourage African governments to commit themselves to democracy and the respect of basic human rights enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, when one looks at the way a country is run in Africa, one can say many African governments are not democratic because basic democratic and human rights are not respected. In many African countries opposition leaders or free press journalists are being jailed because of their commitment to democracy and resolve to rally the people of their country for the respect of the democratic rights of their citizens. It is very sad to point out at this juncture that the governments in Ethiopia, Uganda and Zimbabwe?are among those regimes which have opted to suppress the democratic movements in their countries.
|
Editorials 
