Ghana: Leading A New Era of African Democracy

Take a look at the reported news around Africa: In President Obama’s ancestral country of Kenya, violence ripped through the country after the ruling party proclaimed a dubious electoral victor.  President Zuma of South Africa, having survived corruption and rape allegations to recently assume the presidency, had to grapple with the mystery of which of his several wives would join the rarefied ranks of first ladies of the world.  In oil-rich Nigeria there is elusive peace as the insurgency grows fiercer each day, not to mention the recent flawed elections that brought President Umaru Yar’ Adua to power. Millions in Zimbabwe suffer at the hands President Mugabe under a sham power sharing agreement with his opponent in the last election after the ruling party refused to relinquish power.  Army tanks recently stormed the presidential palace in Madagascar to chase out an elected president.  The president of Guinea Bissau was assassinated hours after an army general was blown into pieces by a bomb. Islamic insurgents are currently battling impotent governments within Somalia. And all of this is does not mention the genocide in Darfur, of which we are all too familiar.

Based on such stories, it is hard for anyone outside Africa to imagine the existence of anything resembling civil society and good governance on the continent.  It is very easy to fall into the ranks of those who see Africa as a “disaster” because of a myopic and ignorant worldview that does not see Africa as having anything good to offer the world.  Yet amidst the strife, unrest, corruption, and starvation that never escape the lenses of the CNNs of the world, there are many encouraging success stories.  In this piece, I would like to share one of these stories with the readers of Demockracy. I hope to share many similar such stories in a new collaboration between Demockracy and CediPost, a Web site focused on the policy and politics of Ghana and the misunderstood continent Africa. Yes, democracy (not demockracy) is still making progress in Africa, and there have been recent successful elections in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Zambia, and the subject of this piece – Ghana.

Statue of Ghana's founding father, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

In fact, democracy is actually flourishing in the West African country of Ghana. Ghana’s burgeoning democracy is a positive drumbeat on a volatile continent where the barrel of the gun still rules in many countries. It is important to trumpet this success story with the hope that other African countries will emulate Ghana’s shining example. In addition, it is important to show as an example to the western world that civil societies and good governance do exist in sub-Saharan Africa.

Fifty-two years ago, Ghana, led by the charismatic and over-ambitious Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, became the first country in the sub-Saharan to emerge from the subjugation of colonial rule. Ghana’s independence spurred on the African liberation movement, and by the mid-1960s, 30 African countries had become independent. Ghana became the beacon of HOPE for the rest of Africa in the freedom movement.

It is difficult to believe now, but at independence, Ghana was richer and better developed than countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea. However, corruption and mismanagement, two of Africa’s most ravaging diseases, soon drained Ghana’s national coffers and debt started to pile up. To make matters worse,  in Ghana, like many African countries, civilian rule was toppled repeatedly by a series of military takeovers.

The Birth of Democracy

This cycle stopped when former President Jerry John Rawlings shed his military uniform through some international arm twisting and reluctantly adopted democratic rule in 1992.  Since then, Ghana has been on a seemingly unstoppable march to entrench its democracy.

Jerry John Rawlings, former president

Traditionally,  many African countries have been gripped by violence following disputed polls. While the capacity for violence exists in Ghana as it does in any society, Ghana has deviated from the cycle of bad news that has been making the headlines throughout Africa. In 2000 when the world’s oldest democracy was in court squabbling over the winner of the presidential election, the famous Bush v. Gore case, Ghana held its second successful election after adopting democratic rule. Jerry Rawlings, a former coup leader who had metamorphosed into a democratically elected president, stood down quietly after eight years in power and peacefully handed over the reigns to a successor from the main opposition party. A rare occurrence in African politics! To this day, it is unthinkable for an incumbent party to lose an election to an opposition party in many African countries, not to mention peacefully relinquishing power. If you don’t believe me, ask Mr. Odinga of Kenya and the puppet Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, Mr. Tsvangirai.

After the peaceful transition of 2000, many in Ghana were determined to chart a new era in African democracy. Eight years later, in 2008, when the whole world’s attention was focused on Ghana as it went to the polls against a backdrop of sham elections in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria, Ghana trounced the cycle of bad news to conduct successful elections and a peaceful transfer of power, again, from a losing incumbent to an opposition successor. The stakes were even higher in this past election as the winner stood to lead Ghana in an oil-boom era.

Notwithstanding the contentious nature leading to isolated skirmishes and the usual mudslinging between the leading political parties, Ghanaians collectively displayed the kind of political maturity and tolerance that is unheard of in many African countries.  Overall, since embracing democratic rule in the early 1990s, Ghana has  now held four successive peaceful elections, making it the only country in sub-Sahara to have had two peaceful and smooth back-to-back transfers of power from democratically elected incumbents to democratically elected successors. That is a commendable achievement by all measures in a volatile region.

A Beacon of Hope

Ghana has set an example for African democracy and has the potential to become the poster nation of true leadership on a continent so much in need of effective leadership and direction. Ghana is rapidly reclaiming its historical status as the shining star illuminating Africa. If the “wind of change” in the 1950s was for political freedom and self-determination, this time the “wind of change” is for true democracy in Africa. And once again, Ghana has the capacity and potential to lead the way as the POSTER NATION for true leadership in Africa. From the dawn of self-determination to the rise of democracy, Ghana has led the way in Africa and will continue to be a repository of hope to end the cycle of underachievement on the continent.

A sign to President Obama

Ghana’s march to usher the continent into a new era of African democracy and responsible leadership is refreshing and assuring and should be highlighted by all who have the interest of Africa at heart. Therefore, it is befitting that the first Black President of the United States of America, in keeping faith with America’s foreign policy to support democratic and civil societies around the world, has chosen Ghana for his maiden trip to Africa since becoming president. A statement released by the White House in announcing the July 10 trip to Ghana stated:

[T]he president and Mrs. Obama look forward to strengthening the U.S. relationship with one of our most trusted partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and to highlighting the critical role that sound governance and civil society play in promoting lasting development.

In choosing Ghana as the first country to visit in sub-Saharan Africa, the Obama administration is recognizing and rewarding the country for the remarkable progress it has made toward achieving sustainable peace and stability, and most importantly, validating Ghana’s newly carved status as a beacon of hope for a new era of African democracy.

Despite the encouraging progress and all the enthusiasm of recent years, there is no doubt that the challenges Ghana faces are enormous. I will be addressing some of the issues in my conversations to follow.

George Aduhene is the Co-founder and Editor of CediPost.com , a news and blog site on Ghana.