The most recent issue of Foreign Policy (FP) magazine features the world’s “bad guys”, the 23 worst of the worst dictators and leaders in power today. Working in the field of African development, it is difficult to see African countries consistently dominating international lists that do little to improve the perceptions of the continent; African countries consistently hold bottom rankings in world economic development indices and lead the pack for high levels of corruption, famine, high infant mortality rates, poverty, etc. Therefore, when I pulled the most recent edition of FP from my mailbox, I held on to hope that maybe, just this once, Africa won’t dominate this list as well.
Sadly, I was wrong. According to the rankings, the African continent sustains the highest number of “bad guy” leaders; of the 23 dictators profiled in the article, 14 come from Africa, with 4 in the top 10 worst alone. There is no doubt that there are major deficiencies in leadership and development across Africa. But what this article and many reviews of African countries at the national level fail to show are the real and significant efforts at the grassroots level that are bringing democratic and economic progress to their countries, one locality at a time.
Take Ethiopia. By national accounts, Ethiopia is a state on the verge of democratic collapse. Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi (#9 on the list) has worked to progressively stifle democratic growth in his country since his ascension to high office in 1991. But the untold story in Ethiopia is what’s going on outside of Addis Ababa, where a challenged but vibrant private sector is taking the lead in promoting economic sustainability by advocating for democratic reform.
Despite increased restrictions on media, independent radio programs in the rural northern region regularly broadcast programs directed to the business community to provide them access to information on the business environment and how they can effectively advocate for needed reforms in their local government. One such radio program in Mekelle, the Voice of the Mekelle Chamber, inspired the successful advocacy efforts by the Mekelle business community to encourage the local government to develop better, more transparent tax rates.
In another rural region south of Addis Ababa, a small agricultural investors association in Oromia is working to increase opportunities for the commercial farmers they represent by advocating for policy reforms that increase governmental accountability and transparent law enforcement. These efforts paid off in April, when the Ethiopian government lifted an agricultural ban that enabled these farmers access to new markets. These initiatives, while perhaps small in comparison to national level struggles, have had a positive impact on the livelihoods of these communities.
Even Zimbabwe, whose infamous and entrenched leader Robert Mugabe (#2) has indebted his country to historic levels and inhibited democratic development at the national level, has local level successes that would exceed international expectations of the country. The Zienzele Foundation, a charitable organization founded to support HIV/AIDS orphans and their caretakers, provides funding to village-based groups to start their own income-generating enterprises in order to gain self-sufficiency and promote education among youth. The Zienzele model encourages care-takers (predominately women) from villages to form committees and collectively develop business plans for income-raising projects, such as basket-weaving, growing agricultural commodities from small gardens, and sewing. The committees then apply to Zienzele for start-up funding and capacity-building assistance. Using an entrepreneurial model, the Zienzele Foundation has helped caretakers and orphans in 14 villages across Zimbabwe gain access to economic opportunities and foster an understanding of the democratic process in a way that the national level government has not been able to provide.
While I would hardly disagree with so many African appearances on the “worst of the worst” list, it’s important to recognize that the fates of these nations, and the people that live there, do not lie solely with the men in the article. Civil society and the private sector are utilizing local resources and innovative thinking to improve not only livelihoods but also the state of democracy in their own communities. Now that is the story I’d like to read more about.
Published Date: July 01, 2010