AFRICA: Continent needs "home-grown" democracy - Mkapa

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

KAMPALA, 25 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - The African continent must discard the political systems it inherited from its colonial masters and develop a "home-grown" democracy that would better reflect conditions on the continent, outgoing Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa said on Wednesday.

"After all those years of colonial rule and the five decades or so of self-rule, with its mistakes of all colours and shades, the time has now come for Africa to go back to the drawing board and try to engender a new democracy for Africa with African characteristics," Mkapa said in an address to the Ugandan parliament.

Mkapa arrived in Uganda on Wednesday to bid farewell before his retirement later this year.

"As I prepare to leave office, and as I look back over our recent history, I am convinced that Africa needs a home-grown new democracy," he added.

In a speech that won a standing ovation from legislators in the capital, Kampala, Mkapa said African states should seriously consider ridding themselves of the colonial legacy.

"Our political systems and institutions still mirror, to a large extent, systems and institutions of the former colonial powers. What most of us in leadership in Africa are has roots in this colonial past. We still believe that to be educated and to qualify for leadership, one must speak English, French or Portuguese," Mkapa said.

He said the posture of colonial administration, with the governor providing patronage, rank and money, was adopted by most former European colonies in Africa, leading to the advent of the so-called "big man" leader on the continent.

"That Africa ended up with 'big men' at State House is not entirely unrelated to this colonial legacy. Colonialists did not prepare Africans for self-democratic rule," Mkapa said. He noted that many dictatorships in Africa had been bred from the influence of colonial legacy.

He added that the "arbitrary borders" drawn for Africa at the Berlin Conference of 1884, along with what he described as the "divide and rule methods used by the colonial masters", explained why the continent, the world's poorest, was the platform for political conflicts and civil wars.

"Africa has to bring to a close this sad chapter of conflict," he said. "Our former colonial masters must be courageous enough to accept part of the blame and support Africa as it seeks lasting solutions to these conflicts."

Mkapa said although many nations in Africa were holding free, fair and regular elections, such polls were not enough if good governance was to prevail across the continent.

"We must now create systems of political and economic management that are strong, that are resilient and that are capable of outliving their founders and current leaders," he said.

Democratic governance could only take root in Africa, Mkapa stressed, if leaders groomed potential successors to the presidency.

"We need to identify potential leaders early, and develop and nurture them," he said.

Other areas he said needed attention included quality education, building capable and sustainable institutions and systems, as well as creating conducive environments for tolerance and socio-political inclusion.

He said the African people should be allowed to participate in their governance, which should be built on transparency and accountability.

Mkapa has been president of Tanzania since he was elected in 1995. Re-elected in 2000, he is constitutionally ineligible to stand for a third five-year term; he will step down after presidential elections on 30 October.

[ENDS]