Dear Pambazuka News,
Happy New Year and many thanks for the excellent work you do.
Best wishes,
Glenys Kinnock MEP

Happy New Year to you folks at Pambazuka!!! Keep the spirit alive, I love your zine!
Regards,
Kristian Schmidt

Well done! Keep up the good work. I hope that 2005 will give me more time to read your news from "cover to cover". I have a vast reference library waiting to be used.
Many thanks,
Marilyn Aitken

Dear Pambazuka supporters and management,
I do wish you happy New Year and Merry Xmas. You have empowered me in many ways as you directly hit into touchy issues especially for the disadvantaged people - women, children and the poor!
Verdi Mushema

Dear Comrades,
Thanks for the regular supply of information which are so valuable when one is far away from home.
Keep well,
Eric Singh

Dear Pambazuka,
We very much appreciate your excellent service. Your plans are exciting, and your advocacy work important. We will continue to repost your campaigns on our ActionFocus page as much as possible.
Happy holiday,
Jim Kirkwood

Well Done Pambazuka…thank you for a great service…without the bells and whistles we've come to expect from mainstream news providers.
Trudy Kragtwijk

Dear Pambazuka,
So many thanks for giving me the opportunity to contribute to your excellent magazine. Believe me, it has become one of the best references on African matters. So, keep up the good work.
I am sure your influence will grow even more in 2005, thanks in large part to your coverage of the issues and challenges that matter the most to the African people.
It will be a great pleasure for me to make other contributions to your magazine to promote the cause of Africa's freedom, independence, unity and prosperity.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Warm regards
Demba Moussa Dembele

Have a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
The KISWCD team

Thank you Pambazuka for such excellent work. As a Project Coordinator bringing together experts and practitioners to discuss, analyse and make recommendations for conflicts on the continent, your newsletter keeps me updated of what is going on including people to contact if I need further information. Thank you to all the staff and I wish you all the best for the holiday season and much success for the upcoming year!
Chineme Ugbor

Many thanks for the amazing publication. Seasons greetings to you and yours.
Regards,
Robin Opperman

Thanks to Pambazuka-News too for an outstanding and well done job. Hope to continue our support. Best wishes for 2005.
Anonymous

Dear PZ,
A luta continua,
Steve Kibble

World Bank President James Wolfensohn said he expects to leave his job after his term expires in June. U.S. President George W. Bush is likely to push ahead with plans this year to narrow the focus of the World Bank, analysts said, returning the international lending institution to its roots of primarily financing large infrastructure projects and doing away with the practice of handing out zero percent loans.

Cooperation between nations of the South will eventually trigger growth and development in some of the world's poorest countries, according to the United Nations, which marked the first U.N. Day for South-South Cooperation' in December. The world body has launched an aggressive campaign to strengthen economic and trade relations among the world's 132 developing nations.

Somalia’s new leaders are to reconstitute their country's cabinet this week and then decide when to relocate their new administration from Nairobi to Somalia, a Kenyan minister said on Tuesday. "We met the Somali president [Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed] together with the prime minister [Ali Muhammad Gedi] and the speaker of the national assembly," John arap Koech, Kenya's minister for East Africa and Regional Cooperation, told a news conference in Nairobi. "They assured us that they will be appointing the cabinet this week.

Zambian civil society and opposition parties are to persist with efforts to pressure the authorities to enact a new constitution before elections in 2006, despite the government's reported willingness to renew talks. "We welcome the government's decision to set aside its 'roadmap' and to hold fresh dialogue. We have a two-pronged approach to the issue - while we will continue to dialogue with the government, our foot soldiers will continue to hold demonstrations and campaigns around the country," said Reverend Japhet Ndhlovu, spokesman of the NGO coalition Oasis Forum.

Human growth is a sensitive measure of social change. In a recent study conducted by Loughborough University, UK, that looked at data from more than 3000 children born in Soweto and Johannesburg in 1990, nearly one in five of the children in the study were found to be stunted – a sign of persistent poor health and nutrition during infancy.

Sheltered inside the confines of the Beijing International Convention Center, hundreds of hydropower advocates and a smattering of damaffected people and their allies gathered on a crisp October morning for a three-day United Nations Symposium on Hydropower and Sustainable Development. The organizers – the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), China’s National Development and Reform Commission, and the World Bank – claimed to want to facilitate a discussion among a wide range of participants on the role and future of hydropower in sustainable development. However, the conference was so biased toward hydropower proponents that the meeting was more like an industry workshop than a true exchange of ideas as promoted by the World Commission on Dams. Perspectives critical of hydropower were virtually excluded and the participation of NGOs and dam-affected people was marginalized, reports the World Rivers Review, published by the International Rivers Network.

Climate change poses a potentially major challenge to social and economic development in all countries. It is widely accepted that at least part of the earth's 0.6°C warming during the last 100 years is due to emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, caused by human activities. During this century, the world is expected to continue warming, by between 1.4 and 5.8°C. Other predicted impacts are a rise in global sea levels of between 0.09 and 0.88 metres by 2100, and changes in weather patterns, including an increased frequency and severity of extreme events such as hurricanes, floods and droughts. How can developing countries and development policies ensure progress in a changing climate?

The UK government is coming under heavy pressure from business leaders to reject plans by the United Nations to make multinational groups legally liable for human rights, including abuses by their suppliers and customers. The UN proposals, due to be discussed by member states on March 15, come amid widespread evidence that transnational corporations are more powerful than sovereign nations, and allegations they have misused that power.

I would like to react to your call for quotes on how useful we find Pambazuka. For me, as a European working with African partners and always on the outlook for new information and allies, Pambazuka news is a window to the African social movements and what is happening on the ground. It is news from people concerned with social and environmental issues, directly from the field. I learn something new from every Pambazuka issue, and i am very happy Pambazuka is providing such a service.

Pambazuka remains the only African centred on-line resource for reseachers, development workers, proactive government workers and the civil society in Africa. Through its service, it has been able to bring about an African wide connected assertiveness among relevant stakeholders on critical issues confronting the continent. It is for Africans, by Africans and for the friends of Africans across the world.

I am a great fan of Pambuzuka news. It addresses social concerns which engulf us in the region. Pambuzuka news motivates one to do something about the social issues around us.I feel this quote is relevant when dealing with the complex issues we have to deal with everyday, "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship".

The 120th anniversary of Africa's partition passed largely unmarked in November 2004. While some no doubt would wonder what the significance of this is today those that are aware of the partition and its implications will be able to see its negative implication for Africa's development and parallels with cold war era balkanisation of the world into east versus west spheres of influence. Some would even argue that Hitler's brazen land grab or policy of "Lebensraum " in which the Nazis claimed expansionism and conquest was vital for the continued political and economic development of Germany sprang from the objectives of the Berlin conference. Without doubt however the goal of the Berlin conference was to consolidate expansionism for resources and markets through negotiation rather than war.

Globalisation came to Africa via the transatlantic slave trade about 500 years before the term became 'sexy' or was even coined. This massive plundering and abuse of Africa's most valuable resource - its citizens - provided millions of slave workers and stupendous profits for the forerunners of many of today's multi million dollar business empires and their countries of origin. The equivalent present day would be to have today's multinationals backed by states to forcibly recruit millions to work in factories and industries as slave labour for 400 years with absolutely no pay beyond food and water supported by floggings, amputations and hangings to keep the workers in line. The idea is not far fetched. The creation of an artificial class of non-persons by way of demonising Jews created the slave labour for the companies behind the Nazi war production machine. If six million perished in Germany and some parts of Europe within six years in a state policy partially hidden from society but subsequently exposed, think what could have happened over a period of 400 years of unrestricted savagery by numerous states and a clearer picture emerges of the most savage, violent, and comprehensive mass violation of rights in human history.

Some 'experts' squabble of whether Africa lost 25, 50 million or a 100 million to this bestial policy sanctioned by states, and use various criteria to compute varying figures - abductees that actually arrived alive at slave plantations, those that ended up at the bottom of the ocean, those that died resisting, those that died as a result of displacement and its consequences such as disease and hunger, children that died after loosing their families etc. This is beside the point. Not only were millions in their youth and productive prime lost, millions more were psychologically destroyed and displaced and most importantly the development of society was more or less suspended for 400 years. We only need to look at the impact of the holocaust on Jews, or the current Darfur crisis to see what state sanctioned policies of destruction of a people can do to the stability, development and psychology of peoples and their societies.

But this is not the main focus of this write up. The significance of the above is that it was against this background that the Partition of Africa - a continuation of the policy of plundering by other means - from human to natural resources - was enforced. The Berlin Conference of 1884 formalised the scramble for and partition of Africa by colonial powers. The conference was hosted by the German government of Otto Von Bismarck and led to Africa being carved up for the exploitation of its resources along the lines of modern day gangsters dividing cities into market spheres of influence to avoid arbitrary gang warfare that is bad for 'business'.

By the end of the conference of 13 European powers and the United States, the template had been laid down for the creation or superimposition of roughly 50 countries the majority of which cut arbitrarily across the logic of nationality, geography, language or other uniting factors. The then major players were Britain, Germany, France, and Portugal, which between them already controlled most of the coastal territories where forts were established for protection of trading companies. Belgium, Italy and Spain played supporting roles with the others haggling in vain for crumbs. The broad division that resulted was:

- Hosts Germany grabbed Namibia (German Southwest Africa) and Tanzania (German East Africa), Togo land, some of Cameroon and Benin.
- Great Britain pressed its naval and military advantage and secured Egypt, parts of Sudan, Uganda and Kenya (or British East Africa), most of southern Africa including South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe (or Rhodesia), Botswana and significant areas of West Africa especially Nigeria and Ghana (Gold Coast).
- Belgium and King Leopold II held tight to the Democratic Republic of Congo (then known as Belgian Congo).
- France secured most of western and central Africa, then known as French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa and later some of North Africa.
- Portugal took Mozambique and Angola
- Italy got Somalia (Italian Somaliland) and a portion of Ethiopia.
- While Spain made do with the smallest territory - Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni).

The negative impact of the partition on Africa could not have been lost on the colonial powers especially Bismarck of Germany whose entire 40-year political career was devoted to the unification of Germanic states including fighting three wars including the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 and executing an endless series of diplomatic manoeuvres that played his neighbours against each other. (The subsequent defeat of Germany in the first and second world wars led to the loss of its colonies)

For the "natives' already disoriented by the slave trade and its consequences, expansionism, protectorates and artificial states not only meant the denial of the right to self determination, it meant suppression and containment by state machineries designed for colonial rule. Colonial economies were not designed to develop the colonies but rather to create wealth for the colonial powers. An entire legislative framework and state apparatus was specifically designed to ensure that "the law" crushed any signs of dissidence. Sedition, criminal defamation, insult laws, states of emergency, detention without trial, pass laws etc became key instruments of control by colonial authorities or white minority governments in southern Africa. These frameworks and culture of intolerance for opposing views were largely inherited by many African states and laid the foundation of institutional abuse of rights in many modern African countries today.

It is utterly impossible to sustain human rights within the context of unviable states, failed states, or states perpetually in a state of conflict either because they are an artificial construct with ruling elites based very narrowly ethnic, language, racial or other artificial divisions. Also, the artificial borders created by the partition of Africa broke apart ethnic nationalities and in many cases fused them artificially with others nationalities within new states. Ruling elites were cultivated either from minorities or majorities or artificially created and sustained using the army and or police. These divide and conquer policies were unsustainable indefinitely and it was just a matter of time before conflicts broke out over political or economic domination. In some countries, the process of independence leading to the withdrawal of colonial powers or served as the trigger for long suppressed divisions to boil over. Either way, the entire construct of these states was aimed at exploiting and violating the rights of citizens.

By the time of independence, many African countries were stuck with these artificial constructs and a change of guard offered no solution. Not insignificantly, the independence era coincided with the cold war era and any leaders actually asserting independence were promptly labelled communists and dispatched via coups, murder or both. Some countries such as the DRC are yet to recover from the consequences of such interference and disruption that led to the murder of its elected Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and the imposition of Mobutu. If as in the case of Ghana's Nkrumah new leaders actually advocated African Unity and a reversal of the colonial borders and fiefdoms of new political leaders then other insecure African governments anxious to maintain the status quo also opposed them. Where soldiers were not directly prompted to seize power, the fragile nature of many states and their non productive nature meant that in the struggle for political power, the most organised and best armed body of men would inevitably become aware of their potential power and sweep squabbling politicians aside. The assumption of power by armies largely trained to serve colonial interests by holding down populations could only lead to more institutional violation of rights. Despite their occasional anti-imperialist posturing and theatrics designed to confuse issues and consolidate their hold on power, this was the true nature of the Mobutu's and Idi Amin's.

The cold war also resulted in prolonging the life of white minority rule in southern Africa as the liberation movements were seen as pro communist or socialist and the white minority governments pro west and pro capitalist. Cold war rivals sustained all sorts of undemocratic governments of the left, right or centrist kind, as Africa once again became an arena of conflict.

In other words, the interruption of social, economic and political development by four centuries of slavery, the repressive legislative frameworks, state apparatus, institutions and culture created by colonial authorities, the non productive nature of many economies, the unviability of others, artificially constructed states, long periods of military or civilian dictatorships that plundered the countries, the cold war fall out and so forth have all combined to create the present political culture and political economy which prevails in much of Africa and makes it difficult if not impossible to uphold human rights in a sustainable form.

Any move away from this past which had as its central feature the institutional violation of rights must therefore have as its new central feature, the institutional promotion of rights. Its not a coincidence, that the new African Union has emerged in a decade that has seen more elections in Africa than in the last 40 to 50 years of independence of most Africa countries. In the case of some southern African countries, independence was only won in the last 10 to 20 years. Compared to the relative 600 to 700 years of stability and development in Europe only accelerated or held back by revolution or war for certain periods its easy to see why Africa remains the least developed continent despite its potential. The context becomes clearer in comparison with the Asian colonies which had their civilisations, cultures and developmental trajectories affected by decades of colonialism - but crucially not suspended or destroyed by 400 years of slavery followed by carving up and imposition of mostly artificial states. The result is that Asia has an unbroken sense of history and culture and recovered quickly but not yet completely from colonialism. In the case of China and Japan, the results of relative lack of disruption are clear to see. Were it not for the immortality of the pyramids, mummification techniques that indicate advancements in medical science and undeniable archaeological evidence of several African civilisations thousands of years older than many European and Asian civilisations, Africa and civilisation would never be mentioned in the same breath. As it stands, Hollywood is still in denial as evidenced by its continuous portrayal of ancient Egypt by white actors. This travesty and violation of historical and cultural rights can only be equalled by a spectacle of African actors portraying ancient Greece, Rome or China without any sense of irony.

The largely unbroken development of Europe over the last few centuries also explains why modern day European military dictatorships such as Franco in Spain, Salazar in Portugal or more recently in Greece and the Balkans did not fundamentally upset the development of those societies even though some of them and Franco in particular lasted over 30 years - longer than most African dictatorships. Even where as in the case of Hitler and Mussolini dictatorship and war led to destruction, the Marshall plan with its more or less free billions of dollars reconstructed and even gave impetus to further development of those societies.

Most importantly and not surprisingly, major European governments subsequently came to the conclusion that the creation of a European Union would help break the cycle of wars and conflict in Europe and create the developmental basis for future socio economic and political stability. At the heart of this today is the promotion of European level core rights instruments, which provide more protection to citizens than the rights regimes in many individual countries hence the tendency to resort to the European Courts for the protection of rights, denied in-country. "I will go to Europe" has become a fashionable slang by many that feel cheated and unprotected.

The adoption of several rights based treaties and protocols by the new African Union is a step in the right direction and the recent declaration of a treaty signing week within the last month shows that the Commission of the African Union in particular clearly understands the role that promotion of rights can play in the development of modern society. The mission, vision and strategic plan promoted by the Commissions current Chair Prof. Alpha Konare are evidence of this. It is far from clear however that many African governments understand this as evidenced by the lethargy towards signing, ratifying and institutionalising instruments that will enhance the protection of rights such as the African Court of Human Rights /Court of Justice and the Protocol for the Protection of Rights of Women. This trend must be reversed. The broad sketches of African and world history and development above demonstrate that no where on the planet is the institutionalisation of rights more crucial to development than in Africa.

The political integration of Africa is aimless and doomed unless done on a rights basis that reverses hundreds of years of a largely imposed political culture rights abuses which can in turn unleash its creative and developmental potential. The protection of rights can also not be sustained on the basis of underdevelopment. Governments largely based on exploitation, preservation of ruling elites, or that preside over underdeveloped societies tend to deny free expression and core rights of association, assembly, political participation and ignore key economic and social rights such as health care, housing, food security and so forth. The summary and core of the rights imperative is that all societies need these rights to develop and cannot develop further without the protection of these rights.

Sankore is Coordinator of CREDO for Freedom of Expression & Associated Rights an NGO focussing on rights issues in Africa.

Two opposition parties challenging the veracity of Namibia's national and presidential polls were on Thursday granted a High Court order to peruse official election documentation in order to substantiate their case. The court ordered the Electoral Commission to make available to the Congress of Democrats (CoD) and the Republican Party (RP) election reports of returning officers for each of the 1,168 polling stations and all of the 107 constituencies.

* Editorial: 2004 marks the 120th anniversary of the Berlin conference that tore up Africa into balkanised zones for the benefit of imperial exploitation - Rotimi Sankore highlights the consequences on Africa
* Comment and Analysis: Conflict is like a fire: It can keep you warm and can cook your food, but if it gets out of control, it can burn your house down, warns Yav Katshung Joseph in relation to the DRC
- Many thought Ghana would never recover from 1980s turmoil, but recent elections show there is hope for the rest of West Africa, writes Kayode Fayemi
- Separating the good guys from the bad guys in Côte d'Ivoire might not be as easy as the international community would like, says Véronique Tadjo
* Letters: Readers share their thoughts on food security, FGM and the future of Africa
* Conflict and Emergencies: As conflict flares in the east, a new report says the death toll in the DRC is approaching four million
* Refugees and Forced Migration: Child Protection in the context of displacement in Uganda
* Elections and Governance: Zimbabwean human rights groups respond to the passing of the NGO bill
* Development: The African Social Forum in Zambia demands full debt cancellation
* Environment: Rich countries spend billions subsidising industries that cause climate change, but a fraction of this amount goes to those in developing countries who suffer the most from pollution, states a new report
* Books and Art: Pambazuka News reviews Blind Moon by Chenjerai Hove

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Dear Reader,

Although we will be sending out a short message next week, this will be our last full edition for 2004. The weekly Pambazuka Newsletter will be released once again on 06 January 2005. May everyone go in peace during the break!

The Editors

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Delegates at the African Social Forum in Lusaka agreed that Africa should host the next World Social Forum. However, delegates who were drawn from over 50 African countries were divided over which country should host the forum. Morocco had earlier offered to host the World Social Forum but most of the delegates were opposed to the idea of staging the conference in the North African country.

"We Demand Full Multilateral Debt Cancellation for Africa and the Global South
Drop the Debt 100% -- All Impoverished Countries -- No Economic Conditions!

As civil society organizations from across the continent of Africa, we are confronted every day by the devastating reality of the crisis of debt. Debt payments to wealthy institutions like the IMF and World Bank rob our countries of resources we desperately need to provide health care, fight HIV/AIDS, provide education, and make available clean water. Debt is a tool of domination used by rich country governments and creditors like the IMF and World Bank. Conditions attached to debt relief and loans are devastating our economies and undermining our choices as sovereign nations.

For impoverished nations, multilateral creditors - in particular the IMF and World Bank - are the largest creditors. They are also the most powerful: because of their "preferred creditor" status, countries must pay their debts back first to these institutions. If countries do not pay, they are penalized and excluded from most forms of aid and assistance.

For impoverished nations, multilateral creditors - in particular the IMF and World Bank - are the largest creditors. They are also the most powerful: because of their "preferred creditor" status, countries must pay their debts back first to these institutions. If countries do not pay, they are penalized and excluded from most forms of aid and assistance.
The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative was launched by the World Bank in 1996 to provide a "robust exit" to the crisis of debt faced by impoverished nations. Eight years on, the program has failed to achieve this goal. HIPC has provided too little relief, to too few countries, with devastating conditions. It is time to move beyond the failed HIPC Initiative towards another approach: Full (100%) multilateral debt cancellation for all impoverished nations, without harmful conditions.

We are aware of discussions going on now within the G-7 (in particular proposals by the UK and US governments), the IMF and World Bank, and other forums about possibilities for 100% (full) multilateral debt cancellation. We are encouraged that after many years of half-measures, full cancellation is being discussed at these levels. However, we must be clear about the principles for such discussions to meet the goals and aspirations of African civil society.

First, 100% multilateral debt cancellation is critical. Attempts to determine a "sustainable" level of debt for impoverished nations desperately trying to address the crises of HIV/AIDS and economic injustice should be rejected. For impoverished nations struggling to meet the human needs of their peoples, full 100% multilateral debt cancellation is the only option.

Second, this cancellation must come without any economic conditionalities. The HIPC program and PRSPs are riddled with conditions such as privatization, indiscriminate trade liberalization, opening up markets, fiscal and monetary targets. These conditions have devastated our economies long enough. Debt cancellation must come without any economic conditions attached. Moreover, we reject and find that the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) must be dismantled and abolished. The PRGF is not a force for development in our countries; the conditions attached to loans from this facility have devastated our economies. It is time to end the role of the IMF in poor countries once and for all; closing the PRGF is a critical first step towards doing this.

Third, multilateral debt cancellation must apply to all impoverished nations, not just the 42 HIPC nations. We reject proposals which only address countries that have reached HIPC "completion point." Many countries would be excluded from this approach. Moreover, non-HIPC countries must be included in efforts towards 100% debt cancellation. Countries including Haiti, Jamaica, and Nigeria are not part of HIPC, despite their extreme indebtedness.

Finally, we think that the multilateral financial institutions should do their fair share, and should contribute the bulk of the resources to finance debt cancellation. The IMF and World Bank are two of the richest financial institutions in the world. The IMF sits atop more than $30 billion in gold which currently serves no productive purpose. The IMF could sell this gold and use proceeds to cover debt owed to the World Bank and other multilaterals. The IBRD could easily mobilize more than $10 billion in accumulated profits and reserves and could commit a share of its annual multi-billion dollar profit to debt cancellation. The IMF should close down the PRGF facility and use its resources to cancel IMF debt. These are wealthy institutions; it is high time for them to do their fair share and by paying for debt cancellation, begin to acknowledge their role and responsibility in the debt crisis.
We do not believe that concerns about the "additionality" of debt cancellation should be allowed to postpone the full cancellation of the multilateral debt. Cancellation is significantly more valuable to our peoples than additional aid. Aid comes with its own conditions, and often creates more debt. The resources realized from debt cancellation can be used as governments - with ample interventions from civil society - see fit. Aid is a promise we have seen broken far too often; cancellation's benefits would be lasting." Click below to see full list of signatories.

"Having been monitoring the 2004 process since its commencement in 2002, the National Society for Human Rights has observed numerous commissions and omissions in the process. In the presence of such gross anomalies, NSHR has been unable to reasonably and fairly declare the 2004 presidential and National Assembly elections as free and fair." This is according to the latest report from the NSHR, which says problems in the election process are symptoms or manifestations of a particular socio-political and economic environment described in the report.

In the arena of post cold war democratisation in Africa, Ghana clearly hit the ground running. From the first election in 1992 that saw the transformation of Flight Lt Jerry Rawlings to President Jerry Rawlings, through the 1996 'stolen election', to the 2000 election, which resulted in the alternation of power from Rawlings' National Democratic Congress (NDC) Government to John Kuffuor's New Patriotic Party (NPP) government, the 2004 election promised all the elements of a consolidation election.

This was the context of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)-West Africa Civil Society Forum's observer mission to Ghana's election this week. Although ECOWAS deployed its own official observer mission, the leadership of West African civil society bodies affiliated to ECOWAS also felt we needed to undertake our own mission. It was a small team of ten led by Sierra Leone's civil society activist and politician, Zainab Bangura, and we deployed in five regions - Greater Accra, Volta, Ashanti, Eastern, and Northern regions. I was in the Greater Accra region with our Team Leader, Zainab Bangura, and coordinated the reports from our colleagues in the hinterland.

Although we were prepared for a well-run election, as Africans who have also 'monitored' elections in several African countries, we were on the lookout for inadequacies. In terms of the preparation and even-handedness of the electoral commission, we were not disappointed. The Electoral Commission arranged our accreditation promptly even though we applied late, it sent its officials to train us on the peculiarities of elections observation in Ghana, and the training covered a range of subjects from security to the voter register. Finally, the EC invited us to contact its officials immediately we notice anything unusual during the voting exercise.

In the period prior to the polls we also met with the leadership of the major political parties, NPP, NDC and CPP, and they all evinced a strong desire for a peaceful and well-run election. All espoused non-violence and all said that if they lost they would seek redress through legal means or accept defeat. It was apparent that campaigning also involved an element of voter education, for example in how to mark the ballots correctly, making the point that those with a vested interest can be the most committed teachers.

The parties were not without complaints, especially officials of the official opposition NDC, and these were extensively documented in a “Memorandum for Foreign and Domestic Observers and Monitors” which was shared with us by its officials. Their concerns ranged from the Voters Identification Card system, delays in disbursement of funds to the EC, manipulation of the media and biased coverage in favour of the ruling party, training of foreign mercenaries and importation of weapons and the alleged partisan involvement of President Obasanjo of Nigeria.

On the eve of the election, the NDC insisted on a meeting of all the political parties with the Electoral Commission to discuss lingering concerns about the “flawed process”. We attended the meeting as observers and it was interesting to see the manner the Electoral Commission responded to all the allegations made by the NDC, both in the way it conceded on some of the gaps noticed by NDC and in the manner it held its own grounds on other aspects of its preparations. I am familiar with many of these allegations as a Ghanaian resident and felt the EC did a good job of demonstrating its independence.

On Election Day, our team visited no fewer than forty polling stations in the Greater Accra region. It was only in one station that the election did not start promptly at 7.a.m because materials did not arrive there due to a vehicle breakdown. We made a point of speaking particularly to party polling agents and it was remarkable that not a single polling agent, particularly those from the opposition parties had any complaints to make to us. In a few polling booths with unusually large number of voters, there was some rowdiness, but by the time we brought this to the notice of the Deputy Chairman in Charge of Operations at the EC headquarters, the Commission promptly took action.

In all cases, police presence was hardly noticeable as they stood some distance from the polling officials, except when their attention was requested. Our colleagues in the other regions painted pretty much the same picture, except the Northern region where there were pockets of violence in the Bawku constituency. With respect to counting, this was done at each polling station immediately after voting stopped at 5.p.m. In a unique collaboration between Joy 99 FM station, the Institute of Economic Affairs and Ghana's largest mobile telephone company, Spacefon, results were relayed by phone to the news studio and broadcast, across the country.

What Ghanaians have managed to do with this election is prove that election management is no rocket science. It requires adequate and competent preparation, a high degree of transparency, a responsible government, which respects its own citizens and an alert citizenry ready to protect their vote. It does not matter who wins the election in Ghana as the results were still coming in by the time this was written, but the process that I witnessed was without exaggeration better than what transpired in the last US election. (Editors note: Subsequent to this article being written, President John Kufuor has won re-election for a second term.)

Yet in spite of all one has written, Ghana is not without post election challenges. If President Kufuor wins the election, he would be mistaken to interpret the verdict as a vote of confidence in his government's performance. Ghanaians still worry that their economy is too aid-dependent with sixty percent of the budget coming from external assistance and extreme poverty still stalking the land.

My own assessment listening to Ghana's proliferating FM stations and to ordinary people in my four years of part-residence in Ghana is that the legacies of authoritarian rule and the search for stability count more for ordinary Ghanaians than immediate economic gains. But this may not be for long. As long as many Ghanaians see the shadow of former President Rawlings lurking in the opposition NDC though, the likelihood of its victory in presidential election is remote.

The irony is that the NPP government has not necessarily performed creditably in ensuring the security and safety of ordinary Ghanaians, especially Ghanaians in the Northern region. The brazen murder of the local monarch, the Ya Na in Yendi District, a centre of traditional influence in the Northern region remains a major source of tension and there are those who see the NPP as responsible for this, given the prominence of major NPP figures like Aliu Mahama (current Vice President), Joshua Hamidu (former National Security Adviser and now High Commissioner to Nigeria) and Malik Alhassan Yakubu (former Interior Minister) in the conflict. Indeed, the only area that witnessed serious conflict during the election was the North, especially the Bawku constituency where Hawa Yakubu, prominent civil society activist and ECOWAS Parliamentarian was a candidate.

Equally, in terms of development, the property owning democracy and golden age of business that NPP promised Ghanaians is yet to materialise four years after it came into office. Generally, the economy is no better than where the NDC left it. Over the past two decades, market forces have dominated the economy and this trend has continued with the NPP government. The economy is reliant on the export of primary products thus making it vulnerable to the general shocks of the global economy including price fluctuations. Further, since the 1990s, the economy has been characterised by high rates of inflation, high interest rates, depreciation of the cedi, dwindling foreign reserves, excessive public debt overhang and stagnant economic growth, implementation of the government poverty reduction strategy notwithstanding. The real test of NPP's popularity will come in 2008 when Kuffuor's term expires, and the opposition parties have managed to re-organise themselves.

There are lessons too for other West African countries, especially the most populous of them all, Nigeria. It is arguable that elections in Ghana have resulted in enhanced legitimacy because the chain has remained unbroken since 1992. Having run the fourth election in an unbroken cycle, the Electoral Commission in Ghana is regarded as one of the best managed in the whole of Africa. Its Executive Chairman, Dr Kwadjo Afari-Gyan, and his fellow commissioners have become well-known elections gurus in the continent, earning the respect of peers across the board. Sitting in on one of the Commission's meetings with political parties, one can understand why. Dr Afari-Gyan demonstrated a mastery of his brief without being arrogant, entertained legitimate complaints from the opposition parties and left all with a clear impression that he was not in the pocket of any government or opposition party.

The challenge is therefore to organise an Electoral Commission that is truly independent of Government and wholly accountable to the people. The Ghanaians can help by sharing their experience with other West Africans, and since Dr Afari-Gyan is already the Secretary-General of the Elections Management Bodies in Africa, there is a platform to achieve this objective.

Also, given the plans by ECOWAS to establish a full Elections Unit in the ECOWAS Secretariat, that Unit has the specific challenge of assisting to enhance election management in West Africa, by providing capacity strengthening initiatives and strictly upholding the provisions of the Supplementary protocol on Democracy & Good Governance signed by all Heads of States in West Africa, but yet to be ratified by the majority of these leaders.

Another lesson that West African states should take to heart is the relevance of freedom of information and the vigilance of civil society. A major credit for the transparent conduct of the Ghanaian election goes to the several FM stations dotted around the country and the vigilance of CODEO - the local domestic observer mission of 7,000 people. Although some of the FM stations can be a bit over the top in the use of inelegant adjectives to describe the President and opposition leaders, they feed the public with regular, minute-by-minute updates on the elections, and in the process prevent potential problems. They also broadcast provisional election results as soon as counting is completed at the polling booth and follow this to the collation centres until final results are delivered. And, more importantly, they are encouraged to do so by the Electoral Commission. So, the idea that a result known to everyone at the local level suddenly produces another winner as it happens in Nigeria is immediately nipped in the bud.

Finally, what Ghana proves is the importance of distance between the Electoral Commission and the political leadership in any state and the confidence that comes from understanding and surefootedness. We need a better understanding of electoral geography in all of our countries in West Africa, a factor that may well be responsible for the fear of election among the contending parties in Cote d'Ivoire. Two, we should let the public nominate elections commissioners and subject them to public scrutiny before Parliament appoints them in our countries; three, we must fund the electoral body direct from the Consolidated Account without any interference from the ruling Government; four, the electoral body must be supported by an independent bureaucracy, not the regular civil service, and finally, we must ensure that the electoral law promotes independent candidacy and proportional representation rather than winner takes all mentality in our countries where diversity should be celebrated.

In all of these areas, Ghana is light years ahead of many West African states but that is really where the greatest hope lies. Here is a country that was a complete basket case in the early 1980s and many never thought it could recover from its abysmal state. It also defies political science theory up to a point, in that the people are still poor but they value democracy. Barely two decades later, Ghana is an example and a beacon of hope for the rest of Africa. African states' permanent transition too may yet lead to transformation and I believe that if the chain remains unbroken in many of our states, we will improve electoral legitimacy.

* Dr Kayode Fayemi is Director, Centre for Democracy & Development, in Nigeria. This article is reproduced with permission of CDD.

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* Click on the link below for press statement by the West African Civil Society Forum on the Ghana elections.

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