The Shameful Self-enrichment Legacy of African Political Leaders
written by <https://www.zambezian.com/author/z-allan-ntata-ntata/> Z Allan
Ntata
Centuries ago, corrupt African leaders and Western traders made an unwitting
yet deliberate business pact. A few Africans made fortunes; Western
interests found cheap labor, and 12 million people lost their freedom.
The African plight is not much changed now, half a century after the
so-called African independence boom of the sixties. Many African leaders are
still selling off what is most valuable to Africa its resources and the
welfare of its people while pocketing huge bribes and leaving their
citizens destitute.
The estimates are naturally varied, reflecting the clandestine and secretive
nature of the destruction of Africa, masterminded from within by
unscrupulous leaders. It is not a secret, however, that billions and
billions of dollars from across the poorest continent in the world have
ended up in the pocket of very few selfish individuals ever ready to
sacrifice the welfare of their people at the altar of self-enrichment. Sani
Abacha of Nigeria is suspected to have pilfered between $5 billion and $8
billion. There are claims that Egypts Hosni Mubarak looted up to $ 70
billion, Muammar Gadhafi between $30 billion and $80 billion; and Mobutu
Sese Seko is said to have stolen up to $5 billion.
Watchdogs, activists and citizens of Africa are more than justified to be
disturbed by such figures, for when one considers the amount of
transformation the sum of these amounts could have brought to a continent
ravaged with untold poverty, one cannot help but be truly appalled and
infuriated.
It would appear that institutions meant to be watchdogs against corruption:
the judiciary, police, security services and rule of law, are failing the
continent and simply, selectively serving the interests of the elite
classes. This could be a legacy that Africa inherited from its colonial
past, when such institutions were more often subservient to the all-powerful
colonial administrator or governor. In the colonial days, the colonial
private sector, for the most part, produced for export to the imperial
market and as such was usually deeply dependent on the colonial government
for licenses, contracts and subsidies. This sector rarely held the colonial
government to account. With the exception of a few, colonial media sources
were equally bridled.
This legacy however, cannot now be used as an excuse for the continued
plunder of the continent from within, by the very people that are now
entrusted with leading its re-birth and development. Upon close analysis,
it is clear that instead of changing colonial era institutions, laws and
values for the better, African ruling parties and leaders continue to
entrench the deeply compromised governance systems that have kept Africa
backward and against which they fought so much, claiming and promising
redemption from such chains.
The postcolonial Africa, 50 years after the so-called independence
struggles, is an Africa where greed and self-enrichment politics rule. The
ousted colonial elite seems to have simply been replaced by a similarly
narrow elite class, of the independence and liberation movements, the
dominant independence leader and dominant struggle families, or the
dominant ethnic group or political faction. A centralized political culture
very much similar to the colonial administration remains, and it is this
refusal to serve the people that is destroying Africa from within.
In post-independence Africa, the newly acquired state bureaucracy, military,
judiciary, nationalized private industries are often seen simply as the
spoils of victory. A reward for the struggle, first for independence, and
now for whatever election fight is staged by whatever quasi democracy exists
in whatever African state. The process of governance in Africa is opaque and
unaccountable with election struggle cliques dishing out patronage jobs,
government tenders, and newly nationalized private companies to their
political allies, ethnic group(s) or regional interests.
As if the ravaging of Africa and the subjection of vast populations for the
benefit of the elite few is not enough, in recent times, African leaders
have begun to use anti-corruption and embezzlement charges as political
tools to keep their opponents out of contention and perpetuate their own
administrations and, with that, their own self-enrichment.
As evidenced in South Africa, Zambia, Malawi and other countries across
Africa, it is now almost inevitable that former leaders will, as soon as
they begin to show signs of political rehabilitation, be subjected to
charges of corruption that often are more political than based on law or a
genuine desire to fight corruption.
Not too long ago in Zambia, opposition leaders were arrested, youth meetings
banned, political rallies blocked by riot police amidst allegations of
judicial interference and ministerial corruption, smear campaigns in
government media and threats and lawsuits against journalists. Somehow, the
Zambian Government found a way to charge opposition leaders Nevers Mumba and
Hakainde Hichilema, who found themselves facing a string of charges
including corruption, defamation and unlawful assembly.
In South Africa, in 2008, a High Court judge rebuked then president Thabo
Mbekis administration, acidly, pointing out that it was most unfortunate
that the government had rekindled its case against Mr. Zuma within two weeks
of the accused mans victory over Mr. Mbeki for the party leadership of the
governing African National Congress, and that this suggested a political
motive behind the prosecution.
The Malawian case is even more curious. Only three weeks ago, with elections
now impending in Malawi, President Joyce Banda of Malawi ordered that an
evaluation be done of the estate of late president Bingu wa Mutharika. Yet
president Banda herself arrogantly refuses to declare her own assets as
required by the Malawi Constitution. The man contracted to do the Mutharika
valuation was a former member of parliament and convicted criminal Yeremiah
Chihana, a well-known government sympathizer who had been a key Mutharika
Opponent. Chihanas dubious valuation of Bingu wa Mutharikas estate
included institutions that do not even belong to Mutharika such as the
Malawi University of Science and Technology, which belongs to the Malawi
government.
Chihana claimed that the estate was worth 61 Billion Malawi Kwacha (about
$175 million). Predictably, the government, without any investigation as to
the source of the alleged Mutharika wealth and any establishment of whether
the claimed wealth was legitimate or proceeds of corruption, began talking
of arresting leading opposition leader, Peter Mutharika, apparently because
as a brother to the late President, he must be an accomplice of some sort as
if it is eventually established that the Bingu wa Mutharikas wealth was
indeed stolen.
More vengeful acts that have nothing to do with accountability are reflected
in the protests of the World Bank against the refusal of Malawi government
departments, at the instructions of Minister of Justice Ralph Kasambara, to
grant opposition sympathizer Mulli Brothers Holding Limited a tender which
the company won and instead, grant the tender to Bandas supporters.
The corruption investigations that Kasambara claimed were the cause for his
instructions against Mulli Brothers limited have been exposed as mere
fiction because all the investigating agencies he had named to have been
handling the issue (police, Anti-Corruption Bureau and Financial
Intelligence Unit) distanced themselves from the claims, leaving the justice
minister exposed and stranded.
Even schooling the Minister of Justice, the World Bank stated in their
letter of protest that the reasons for refusing to grant Mulli Brothers the
tender were unacceptable and that the government of Malawi ought to be
acutely aware that people are innocent until proven guilty in a court of
law.
But despite this gaffe and embarrassment, Mr. Kasambara has been retained in
a recent revised cabinet, a thing, which would prompt one to suggest that
the minister never acted alone, but in collusion with the powers that be.
The legacy that most African leaders have left on the continent is one of
greed, selfishness and impunity, and a lack of any desire to develop Africa
or help the people they profess to serve. This is despicable enough, and by
itself, it is a sure hindrance to the economic growth and development of the
continent. Yet it is even more despicable that instead of fighting
corruption, African leaders who themselves are often deeply engaged in
corruption are now unscrupulously using corruption to entrench and extend
their own greed and continue to plunder Africa.
For Africa, this is a time when the capacity of the existing
corruption-fighting institutions need to be strengthened, not used for
witch-hunts and silencing political opponents. Africans need independent
anti-corruption drives that are immune from political interference and
follow the rule of Law, led by agencies in the private sector or civil
society. Such agencies will ensure first that proper valuations of alleged
stolen wealth are made before individuals names are ruined by cheap smear
campaigns. They will also ensure that corrupt officials are brought to book,
as well as forcing police and public watchdogs to follow up on cases of
corruption exposed in the media and by whistleblowers. Furthermore, these
institutions must be independent from the presidential office or the
executive department, such as the police or justice ministry, and be
accountable directly to parliament and to the courts.
It is the responsibility of citizens in Africa to ensure that ruling parties
punish the bad behavior of their leaders and party members legally, socially
and politically, as well as reward good behavior. If this is highlighted and
addressed publicly, exemplary leaders will encourage ordinary citizens
(themselves included) to uphold the rule of law. Civil society and the media
will have to play a role in naming and shaming those leaders who espouse
corrupt values while encouraging those who behave with integrity.
Africa needs a new caliber of leadership at all levels. Africa needs
competent and honest, candidates who operate with integrity and not simply
driven by vengeance or the desire to remain in office for life. Electoral
candidates must be judged on the basis of competence, moral character and
genuine commitment to public service and to the African Ideal. It is a shame
that just as it has been through the ages, greed and self-interest is
destroying the African continent from within.
EM
On the 49th Parallel
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in
anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni
katika machafuko"
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