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ECA study concludes on the need for serious engagement of political parties in public policy Addis Ababa, 26 November 2007 (ECA) – A study conducted by the Governance and Public Administration Division (GPAD) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on “Enhancing the participation of African Political Parties in Public Policies” pointed to huge gaps in the ability of political parties to generate or participate in public policies. Presented at the Committee on Human Development and Civil Society meeting from 22-23 November 23, 2007 the study takes an aggregate approach, looking at trends and proposes the kind of interventions that should be designed to address some of the systemic weaknesses outlined. The study notes that the wave of democratic change on the continent between 1989-2000 yielded 42 founding elections, 35 second elections and 10 third elections. However, the political party “rap sheet” in the study shows a twisted relationship between the democratic wave and the nature of the political parties that have emerged as a result of this wave. A long list of weaknesses is highlighted, among them, instability, fragmentation, bickering, poor funding, poor ideological orientation and lack of alternative worldviews as well as low levels of internal democracy, social trust by the people and a limited support base. “Most parties are not organically rooted in society, they are sometimes linked to briefcase NGOs and single individuals and strategically place themselves in political negotiations to be part of the discourse”, said the presenter, Said Adejumobi Chief, Public Administration Section, GPAD. He noted that in selected West African countries, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso have a whopping 130 and 103 respectively, while Ghana has 10. “ The active ones are usually not more than for or five with only two dominant ones.” He said. The study notes that most political parties concentrate on vague populism with little policy discussions and commitments. “Personal and sectional interests of the dominant forces in the party, rather than popular concerns, often under gird the actions of many parties,” said Adejumobi. In addition, smaller parties, which articulate alternative policy choices with some ideological orientation “have weak social base and electoral support”. Cited in this category are the Lima party (NLP in Zambia and the National Conscience Party (NCP) in Nigeria. He noted the lack of institutional mechanisms for real policy debates and the personality cult or founding leadership syndrome, which rob parties of the space for meaningful dialogue. Further, the quality of debates is poor and there is a dire lack of professional expertise in party management, “this deprives them of competencies to articulate policy choices and agendas.” He added. The study calls for enhanced capacity in three respects: Internal capacity and functioning, strengthening their interface with civil society, ensuring accountability and transparency in elected institutions, such as parliament and executive. He told participants that political parties are “central to the process of democratic governance as they constitute a major platform for the articulation, aggregation and formulation of policy agenda”, adding, “they express citizens’ preferences on public policies as their ideological orientation, manifestos and agenda define their policy choices or stance”. To this end, the study calls for putting in place mechanisms for evaluating public policies and facilitate interaction and exchange of information between them and the citizens. “Parties need to promote free, fair and credible elections that will allow the citizens’ preferences on public policies to count,” it states. Participants urged the ECA to embark on an inquiry into how military movements transform themselves into political parties and what the implications for good governance are as well as address the impact of financing on shaping and determination of policy. It was also noted by the participant from Egypt that the role of religion in political parties in some countries “is more important than ethnicity” and that the real social and political phenomenon influencing the nature and practice of political parties should be studied in greater detail. Examples of the dynamic between civil society and political parties in Sudan and Ethiopia were cited as interesting case studies. There is also a need to look into the role of the private sector and its influence on the political parties lack of serious engagement with policy issues. Participants called on ECA to focus its priorities on enhancing and developing the capacity of political parties to generate policies in the next two years. For more on this and other studies by the Governance and Public Administration Division (GPAD), contact ecainfo@uneca.org or http://www.uneca.org/gpad
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