Addis Ababa — African governance is improving but significant challenges remain. That's the message of a summary report released by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
"Striving for Good Governance in Africa," an overview of the state of governance in 28 countries covering 72% of Africa's population, says that while African political governance is improving, on some fronts such as tax evasion and corruption, there is still a long way to go.
It proposes a ten-point action plan for reversing Africa's governance deficits.
The summary report was launched at the fourth African Development Forum in Addis Ababa, before an audience of government ministers, NGOs, academics and others . A full length "African Governance Report" will be published in the coming months.
The report's data and analysis is based on a survey carried out in 28 countries to assess shortcomings in African institutions and human capacity and propose strategies to address them. It also gauged public opinion on governance in their countries.
The report evokes the "capable state" as critical to good governance. A capable state is defined as one which can ensure peace and security, achieves efficient and effective delivery of services, provides space for all sectors of society to contribute to policy, guarantees the legal and political environment for the economy to thrive and deals head on with corruption.
Key survey findings on the political front are that constitutional government is getting stronger, democratic and multiparty elections are increasingly the only acceptable means of transferring power and political systems are getting more inclusive and diverse.
Electoral processes are said to be more transparent, voter participation is high and political parties are getting stronger, although weak and ineffective in many countries.
But results also show that police and the military often violate the rights of citizens, that electoral commissions need more independence and that opposition parties often lack access to resources and security.
Overall, deficits in human capacity continue to be a major constraint limiting governance.
On the economic front, the survey found that public financial management and the environment for the private sector are improving but that the cost and red tape involved in doing business in Africa need to be reduced. Poor infrastructure and service delivery limit growth, and lack of transparency and corruption continue to be major challenges.
In other areas, the survey shows that the African legislatures and judiciaries are becoming more independent despite capacity constraints and that private media are expanding but civil services are said to be weak and perform poorly.
In order to assemble the data for the survey, the ECA drew on three sources. In each country a panel of around 100 experts was assembled to give their opinions on a range of governance issues. Around 2000 individuals were polled on similar issues for a household survey. And desk research was used to assemble factual information.
The Economic Commission for Africa is one of five regional UN commissions mandated to support the economic and social development of African States, foster regional integration, and promote international cooperation for Africa's development.
