By Andrew Allimadi and Carolyn Knapp, General Rapporteur’s Team

His Royal Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene of the Ashanti people of Ghana, and His Majesty Kgosi Leruo T. Molotlegi, King of the Royal Bafokeng Kingdom in South Africa, provided the highlight of Day Two with powerful presentations in defence of traditional systems of governance.

Speaking at a plenary session on “Traditional Systems of Governance and the Modern State,” the Asantehene – whose entrance into Conference Room 1 was preceded by a colourful fanfare of drumming and horn-blowing – pointed out that contrary to popular belief, traditional governance systems also included checks and balances on authority. “Democracy and the rule of law are cardinal features of traditional systems of governance,” he stressed, adding that his own accession to the throne was not automatic, but the result of wide-ranging consultations within the kingdom. The leadership and personal qualities of the ruler are assessed before an heir is chosen from among those eligible.

The Asantehene also described the important role of traditional leaders in mediating conflict situations, explaining that his courts had resolved over 400 cases since his accession, which would otherwise be bogged down in the modern legal system. He suggested that the absence of traditional systems in Cote D’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Liberia may well have played a part in the emergence of conflict in those countries.

In arguing for a pivotal role for traditional systems of governance in delivering development, particularly in rural areas, the Asantehene also described his numerous charitable activities, including HIV/AIDS awareness and the Otumfuo Education Fund, which has provided scholarships to more than 2,000 people, including doctoral candidates. While traditional systems were not the panacea for Africa’s challenges, he argued that they should be part of the solution, calling on the African Union to invite traditional leaders to participate in its summits.

In his presentation, His Majesty Kgosi Leruo T. Molotlegi challenged the popular perception that electoral democracy was uniformly preferable to traditional forms of governance. “Traditional modes of governance are not the same thing as tribal politics,” he insisted, emphasizing that not all traditional leaders represent tribally or ethnically defined entities. Indeed, the modern electoral system itself was far from immune to tribal politics.

H.M. Kgosi Leruo T. Molotlegi cautioned that traditional forms of governance were not uniform across the continent, and as such must be “… rooted in the histories and cultures and contexts” of specific instances and communities. However, just because they did not conform to western style democracy, this did not mean they were unaccountable to the people. Indeed, the Royal Bafokeng Kingdom frequently organized special general meetings for youth and for women to ensure that everyone in the community could participate in the policy-making dialogue.

Contrary to the conventional wisdom, the King stressed that in the South African context, customary law coexisted well with the South African Constitution and Bill of Rights. He insisted that traditional rulers were not contesting power with the modern state, but would like to work in partnership with it, arguing that it was the modern African state that in many cases had refused to partner with traditional leadership. On the contrary, a great deal of African democracy was already in place and this should not be discarded in favour of western systems.

Illustrating the potential for co-existence between tradition and modernity, the King pointed out that Bafokeng had invested approximately US$ 1.5 million in 2000 to install wide-area Internet access in schools and local institutions.

Also present at the session was the Executive Secretary of ECA, Mr. K.Y. Amoako, who chaired the session, Mr. Olara Otunnu, UN Under-Secretary General and Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict, who responded to the two royal presentations.

Earlier, ECA unveiled two major new studies, the African Governance Report and African Gender and Development Index Report. This was followed by a review of the NEPAD African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), featuring testimony on the roll-out of the APRM in Ghana and Rwanda. A number of discussants cited difficulties encountered in implementing the APRM, which has been acceded to by 23 African countries to date. For example, the process has proven to be more expensive and time-consuming than initially expected.

Breakout sessions on five topics – Sub-regional perspectives on governance in Africa, Parliament and Governance, Traditional Governance, Local Governance and Participatory Development, and HIV/AIDS and Governance – were underway as ADF Today went to press.

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