1st Joint Annual Meetings of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Opening Statement by H.E.Mr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete Governance and the Capable State The Conference Chairperson / UN- Under Secretary General and Executive secretary of the ECA, It affords me a great pleasure to be here with you to be part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the ECA and participate in this august presidential forum. When ECA was established in 1958, the main political aspiration was for the liberation of our continent. The founding fathers of Africa were engaged in fierce political battles to promote the dignity of the black race through political freedom and independence for Africa. The struggle though localized in our respective countries, took an international dimension with the fervent and passion of pan-Africanism calling for unity, solidarity and fraternity of the African continent. ECA could not have been born at a better opportune time than when it came into existence. It was a time when the cry for freedom, liberty and development were the key words on the lips of most African citizens. Four decades after political independence, the struggle is still on, but now centered on social and economic emancipation and development. ECA has been part of that historic struggle for economic development in Africa; we have done a lot but still have a long, long road to go. Most of the most profound economic initiatives in Africa, which challenged dominant thoughts on development, were 'manufactured' here at the ECA. I recall ECA's role in the formulation of the Lagos Plan of Action and the Final Act of Lagos, and about two decades ago, the African Alternative to the Structural Adjustment Programme. ECA, I am aware has also been supporting member-states in their economic and social development agendas, and has made an important foray into the areas of democracy and good governance. I strongly commend your efforts, and think there is need for us to celebrate, but the road is still long and tortuous. The stark realities of poverty and underdevelopment, the prevalence of HIV / AIDS on our continent with deadly consequences on our labour force and development project, the debt peonage, the raging incidents of war and political conflicts with results of population displacements, refugee flows and social disruption of the lives of the people, and the problems of hunger, poverty and disease remind us that we have not won the economic battle. This is a challenge to our regional institutions like the ECA, the African Union, NEPAD, the RECs and of course our countries especially the political leadership to redouble our efforts in the struggle for economic development. The theme of my discussion with you today is on governance and the capable state. Good governance is critical to achieving economic development. Good governance is about steering the state and society towards the realization of collectively defined goals through ensuring that public institutions function, the potentials of the private sector is fully unleashed, civil liberties and the rule of law are guaranteed, the right of the people to choose their leaders through the ballot box is respected, there is predictability in the administration of state affairs, civil society constitute a partner in the development project and national consensus is achieved in the development vision for a country. Good governance can only be realized in a democratic environment. While it is true that a dictatorial regime and non-democratic system can fast-track economic growth, if the country is fortunate to have a development oriented leadership, but such achievements may not be sustainable, and the risk factor of failure is enormous. Promoting a systemic approach to development through the instrumentalities of good governance is a major means of facilitating sustainable development. A capable state is part of the prerequisites of good governance. Without a capable state, basic services cannot be delivered promptly and efficiently, public security cannot be provided, an investment friendly environment will not exist, and both the citizens and foreigners will have little confidence in the country. As such, a capable state is a state with functional institutions that can deliver services, provide public security, entrench the rule of law, formulate sound economic policies and project its national strategic interest abroad. Fundamentally therefore, Africa needs a capable state and good governance to forge ahead and break the barriers to its development. Distinguished Participants, Let me remind you that good governance is a rare commodity in the history of the world. It is an ideal, which all countries, rich or poor, developed and underdeveloped aspire to. No country can claim monopoly or being a reservoir of good governance. This is because problems are endemic to human societies and the constant challenge of identifying and addressing them in an eternal process. Therefore, every country is in a permanent state of refining and adjusting its governance system, and formulating options on confronting major problems. The adjustment in governance systems, which I am talking about, is not in changing constitutions arbitrarily, or changing the electoral laws unilaterally; it is about the people collectively reflecting on their problems and making good decisions to tackle them. The question which many often ask is, why is it that Africa has not been able to construct and entrench good governance? Why is it that Africa is the most backward continent in the World in which its people are engaged in the daily struggle for survival and livelihood, while other parts of the World are dreaming of a space in the moon or their children fiddling with computers? Indeed, bordering on the extreme premised on afro-pessimism, some are dismissive of Africa as a continent that is lost and can never rise. I disagree absolutely with this view. I believe and I am strongly convinced that Africa will rise and prosper. Africa is a continent of the future, whose stars will blossom in the course of time. We must accept responsibility for some of the problem, which bedevil our countries, especially on the governance challenges, but I must be quick to add that there are serious external dimensions to Africa's incapacity. The lopsided international trade regime limits the amount of resources available to countries to persecute development tasks; the debt problems leaves many African countries bleeding profusely with the consequence of a serious development hemorrhage; and the period of structural adjustment programs were difficult years for Africa, which some have qualified as the 'lost decades' and others describe as the 'locust years'. The form of democracy to be practiced must also have international endorsement; otherwise, it would be rejected. I am not making a case for African authenticity on democracy, but countries should be free to adapt democratic values to their national contexts, and design democratic institutions as their culture and experiences dictate. African institutions-both regional and sub-regional are striving to promote the norms and values of good governance, democracy, rule of law, and accountability. The African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, 2007 in a major initiative, which I would appeal to my fellow presidents for us to speed up its ratification and implementation, and the African Convention on Corruption, which also deserves to be domesticated and implemented. The APRM process also offers us an opportunity to reflect nationally on our problems, identify challenges and mobilize resources to surmount those challenges. Our efforts at the national level at building capable states and promoting good governance are the most decisive. There are key institutions, which strengthen state capacity and make a difference in governance. I would identify a few. Political parties are key to democratic governance. Political parties that are autocratic and poorly organized will hardly be able to govern creditably as the values and nuances of governance in a party system are situated in the party regime. The challenge on this is that African countries need to promote the existence of viable political parties that are well- organized, democratic, and disciplined with alternative visions of development. We must not confuse the form with the content about parties. The current situation in which we have many political parties is good, but not enough. It is the quality of those parties that is important. Political parties that can create vision and roadmap for development, and can mobilize the people for the task of development. But a major question that keeps raging about political parties is how should they be funded? Different countries have adopted different approaches, which are no less problematic. I would urge institutions like ECA to work on this issue by collating comparative experiences, formulate policy proposals and engage its member-states on it. Other strategic institutions necessary for building capable states and promoting good governance include a virile and independent judiciary and justice system, a public security institution that can adequately protect lives and property, an impartial electoral institution that will conduct credible elections and make the votes of the people to count, and a functional public bureaucracy. A functional public bureaucracy is a major asset to the economy and the private sector. It would deliver services efficiently, process private sector needs with ease and diligence, and help implement government activities and programmes effectively. As such, we must direct considerable attention to building our public service, which unfortunately came under attack in the adjustment period. The problem of corruption is also a lingering issue in governance. Corruption has a corrosive effect on governance and development. It makes the people lose confidence in the political system and its leadership by eliciting political cynicism, drains the country of scarce resources and make for poor service delivery. In major assessments, Africa still ranks high on the corruption ratings. I would recommend that concerted efforts should be marshaled to confront the monster called corruption and regional institutions like ECA, AU and the RECs should focus their attention and energy on assisting countries in combating this problem. I would like to conclude that leadership is central to good governance and development. We must make conscious efforts to develop a new crop of leadership in Africa from the young generation. Development ultimately should be by, from and for the people. I thank you for your attention.
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