Constitution-making in Africa: assessing both the process and the content
By: Ndulo, M.
Material type:
ArticlePublisher: 2001Description: p.101-17.Subject(s): Africa - Constitution | Constitutions
In:
Public Administration and DevelopmentSummary: This article examines the relationship between governance and development, and concludes that underlying the litany of Africa's development problems is a crisis of governance. Good governance would result in institutions that are more likely to adopt economic policies that would resolve the constraints that hinder economic development. In addition, it would make a major contribution to the reduction of war and conflict. It would do this by creating an environment for sustainable development to take place and thereby reduce poverty, the root cause of war and conflict. This calls for a critical examination of the question of governance in Africa with a view to identifying the obstacles to its establishment and the possible approaches to the development of systems of governance that give political space to all groups. Since the most important legal instrument in the scheme of good governance is the national constitution, the article seeks to identify some of the key issues that must be considered in the process of developing a national constitution if it is to be durable. It also addresses the conditions under which such constitutions should be developed if they are to be acceptable to the people of the country they are intended to govern. Running through the article is the theme that the establishment of good governance in Africa depends on the development of political systems that give people a sense of ownership of the political process. - Reproduced
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Articles
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Indian Institute of Public Administration | Volume no: 21, Issue no: 2 | Available | AR49411 |
This article examines the relationship between governance and development, and concludes that underlying the litany of Africa's development problems is a crisis of governance. Good governance would result in institutions that are more likely to adopt economic policies that would resolve the constraints that hinder economic development. In addition, it would make a major contribution to the reduction of war and conflict. It would do this by creating an environment for sustainable development to take place and thereby reduce poverty, the root cause of war and conflict. This calls for a critical examination of the question of governance in Africa with a view to identifying the obstacles to its establishment and the possible approaches to the development of systems of governance that give political space to all groups. Since the most important legal instrument in the scheme of good governance is the national constitution, the article seeks to identify some of the key issues that must be considered in the process of developing a national constitution if it is to be durable. It also addresses the conditions under which such constitutions should be developed if they are to be acceptable to the people of the country they are intended to govern. Running through the article is the theme that the establishment of good governance in Africa depends on the development of political systems that give people a sense of ownership of the political process. - Reproduced
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