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A Look at Governance Throughout Africa

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Space Supporting Africa

Part of the book series: Studies in Space Policy ((STUDSPACE,volume 28))

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Abstract

This chapter defines governance and explores how good governance is integral to realizing the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda 2063 aspirations. It then examines the various governance structures established within Africa in order to provide an overview of the frameworks that inform governance within the continent, as well as the specific challenges that need to be overcome to ensure good governance. An analysis of the current governance levels in Africa is presented through an examination of the African Peer Review Mechanism’s African Governance Report and the Ibrahim Index of African Governance study and critical areas requiring improvements are identified.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, Strategic Plan 2016–2020, South Africa, 2016.

  2. 2.

    J. McKenna, Six numbers that prove the future is African, World Economic Forum, May 2017, www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/05/africa-is-rising-and-here-are-the-numbers-to-prove-it/, accessed: 8 February 2020.

  3. 3.

    United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, African Continental Free Trade Area—Questions & Answers, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, www.uneca.org/publications/african-continental-free-trade-area-questions-answers, accessed: 27 April 2020.

  4. 4.

    United Nations Economic and Social Council, Compendium of basic United Nations terminology in governance and public administration, New York, 2008 (E/C.16/2008/3), p. 23.

  5. 5.

    Ibid., p. 24.

  6. 6.

    Ibid., p. 25.

  7. 7.

    For a further discussion of Agenda 2063 in the context of the African space sector, see: A. Froehlich and A. Siebrits, Space Supporting Africa Volume 1: A Primary Needs Approach and Africa’s Emerging Space Middle Powers (Cham: Springer, 2019).

  8. 8.

    The African Union Commission, Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, https://au.int/en/agenda2063/overview, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  9. 9.

    The African Union Commission, Our Aspirations for the Africa We Want, https://au.int/en/agenda2063/aspirations, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  10. 10.

    At the AU Summit of June 2014 in Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) the AU Assembly identified high priority programmes to highlight the success of Agenda 2063 to the African Citizenry. The projects and programmes identified were: the Integrated High Speed Train Network, increasing efforts towards establishing a Continental Free Trade Area, the African Passport and free movement of people, establishing the Single African Aviation Market, establishing various financial institutions at continental level (such as the African Investment Bank, the African Remittances Institute, the African Credit Guarantee Facility, the African Monetary Union and the African Central Bank), implementing the Grand Inga Dam Project hydroelectric power station, setting up the Pan African E-Network to allow for increased infrastructure and cybersecurity to support e-governance, creating the Annual Consultative Platform to assist in reaching the Agenda 2063 Aspirations, and the Silencing the Guns by 2020 initiative. These high priority programmes were chosen to be fast tracked and as such were included in the FTYIP.

  11. 11.

    The African Union Commission, The First-Ten Year Implementation Plan, https://au.int/en/agenda2063/ftyip, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  12. 12.

    Ibid.

  13. 13.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Governance Report—Agendas 2063 & 2030: Is Africa on Track?, 2019.

  14. 14.

    The African Union Commission, The First-Ten Year Implementation Plan, https://au.int/en/agenda2063/ftyip, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  15. 15.

    For additional information regarding education in Africa in the context of the space sector, see: A. Siebrits and V. van de Heyde, “Towards the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa: The African Space-Education Ecosystem for Sustainability and the Role of Educational Technologies”, in Embedding Space in African Society: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Supported by Space Applications, ed. A. Froehlich (Cham: Springer, 2019), 127–180; C. Müller, “Aerospace Research in African Higher Education”, in Embedding Space in African Society: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Supported by Space Applications, ed. A. Froehlich (Cham: Springer, 2019), 113–126; and A. Durczok, “Time to Change Your Education Programme—The Transformative Power of Digital Education”, in Space Fostering Latin American Societies: Developing the Latin American Continent trough Space, Part 1, ed. A. Froehlich (Cham: Springer, 2020), 115–124.

  16. 16.

    The African Union Commission, Flagship Projects of Agenda 2063, https://au.int/agenda2063/flagship-projects, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  17. 17.

    Ibid.

  18. 18.

    For an in-depth selection of African country profiles pertaining to the space sector, see: A. Froehlich (ed.), Integrated Space for African Society: Legal and Policy Implementation of Space in African Countries (Cham: Springer, 2019).

  19. 19.

    Ibid.

  20. 20.

    For more information on the Sustainable Development Goals in the context of the African space sector, see: A. Froehlich (ed.), Embedding Space in African Society: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Supported by Space Applications (Cham: Springer, 2019); S. Wade (ed.), Earth Observations and Geospatial Science in Service of Sustainable Development Goals: 12th International Conference of the African Association of Remote Sensing of the Environment (Cham: Springer, 2019); A. Siebrits, O. Mookeletsi, A. Alberts, and A. Gairiseb, “Africa and Space”, in Integrated Space for African Society: Legal and Policy Implementation of Space in African Countries, ed. A. Froehlich (Cham: Springer, 2019), 27–55; and V. Munsami, “Maximising the Use of Space Applications in Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa”, in Embedding Space in African Society: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Supported by Space Applications, ed. A. Froehlich (Cham: Springer, 2019), 1–30.

  21. 21.

    United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform, Sustainable Development Goals, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  22. 22.

    United Nations South Africa, 2030 Agenda, www.un.org.za/sdgs/2030-agenda/, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  23. 23.

    Ibid.

  24. 24.

    UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, Handbook for the preparation of voluntary data reviews, 2019.

  25. 25.

    United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division, SDG Monitoring and Reporting Toolkit for U Country Teams, https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/unct-toolkit/, accessed: 21 January 2020 (Individual country profiles available at: https://country-profiles.unstatshub.org/).

  26. 26.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Governance Report, 2019.

  27. 27.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, The African Governance Report, South Africa, 2019.

  28. 28.

    The African Union Commission, Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want, https://au.int/en/agenda2063/overview, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  29. 29.

    Ibid.

  30. 30.

    For an in-depth analysis of the African space sector by Regional Economic Community, see: A. Froehlich and A. Siebrits, “African Union Member States: National Space Infrastructure, Activities, and Capabilities”, in Space Supporting Africa Volume 1: A Primary Needs Approach and African’s Emerging Space Middle Powers, A. Froehlich and A. Siebrits (Cham: Springer, 2019), 191–272.

  31. 31.

    The African Union Commission, Regional Economic Communities, https://au.int/en/organs/recs, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  32. 32.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, The African Governance Report—Promoting African Union Shared Values, South Africa, 2019.

  33. 33.

    Ibid.

  34. 34.

    Ibid.

  35. 35.

    Ibid.

  36. 36.

    Ibid.

  37. 37.

    Ibid.

  38. 38.

    African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), History and Interactive Timeline, www.nepad.org/history, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  39. 39.

    African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), NEPAD in Brief, Brochure available for download at: www.nepad.org/file-download/download/public/15083, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  40. 40.

    Ibid.

  41. 41.

    Ibid.

  42. 42.

    African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Results at a Glance, www.nepad.org/who-we-are/results-at-glance, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  43. 43.

    NEPAD, Annual Results based Report 2017, South Africa, 2018.

  44. 44.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, Strategic Plan 2016–2020, South Africa, 2016.

  45. 45.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, About the APRM, www.aprm-au.org/page-about/, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  46. 46.

    Ibid.

  47. 47.

    Ibid.

  48. 48.

    Ibid.

  49. 49.

    The African Union Commission, African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), https://au.int/en/organs/aprm, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  50. 50.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, Continental Presence, www.aprm-au.org/map-areas/, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  51. 51.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, APR Forum, www.aprm-au.org/apr-forum/, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  52. 52.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, Strategic Partners, www.aprm-au.org/partners/, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  53. 53.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, APR Secretariat, www.aprm-au.org/apr-secretariat/, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  54. 54.

    Ibid.

  55. 55.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, APR Panel of Eminent Persons, www.aprm-au.org/apr-panel/, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  56. 56.

    Ibid.

  57. 57.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, National Level, www.aprm-au.org/national-level/, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  58. 58.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, National Level—National Commission, www.aprm-au.org/national-level/#1497512220188-c7875e9e-fa9f, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  59. 59.

    Ibid.

  60. 60.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, National Level—Technical Research Institutions, www.aprm-au.org/national-level/#1497512994752-c2021e88-3a1a, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  61. 61.

    African Peer Review Mechanism Secretariat, Major Bottlenecks Facing Africa, South Africa, October 2017.

  62. 62.

    Ibid.

  63. 63.

    Ibid., p. 8.

  64. 64.

    tralac Trade Law Centre, The African continental free trade area: A tralac guide, tralac NPC, November 2019, www.tralac.org/documents/resources/booklets/3028-afcfta-a-tralac-guide-6th-edition-november-2019/file.html, accessed: 27 April 2020.

  65. 65.

    African Union, Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, 10th Extraordinary Summit of the AU Assembly, March 2018, Rwanda.

  66. 66.

    tralac Trade Law Centre, The African continental free trade area: A tralac guide, tralac NPC, November 2019.

  67. 67.

    African Union, List of countries which have signed, ratified/acceded to the agreement establishing the African continental free trade area, African Union, Ethiopia, 8 October 2019.

  68. 68.

    African Trade Policy Centre, African Continental Free Trade Area: Questions & Answers, African Union Commission, March 2018, https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/36085-doc-qa_cfta_en_rev15march.pdf, accessed: 27 April 2020.

  69. 69.

    United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, African Continental Free Trade Area—Questions & Answers, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, www.uneca.org/publications/african-continental-free-trade-area-questions-answers, accessed: 27 April 2020.

  70. 70.

    African Trade Policy Centre, African Continental Free Trade Area: Questions & Answers, African Union Commission, March 2018, https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/36085-doc-qa_cfta_en_rev15march.pdf, accessed: 27 April 2020.

  71. 71.

    United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, African Continental Free Trade Area—Questions & Answers, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, www.uneca.org/publications/african-continental-free-trade-area-questions-answers, accessed: 27 April 2020.

  72. 72.

    See: A. Froehlich and A. Siebrits, Space Supporting Africa Volume 1: A Primary Needs Approach and Africa’s Emerging Space Middle Powers (Cham: Springer, 2019). Also see: A. Siebrits, B. Martens, and C. Eriksen, “Initiatives for Embedding Space Applications in African Societies”, in Integrated Space for African Society: Legal and Policy Implementation of Space in African Countries, ed. A. Froehlich (Cham: Springer, 2019), 357–373.

  73. 73.

    National Geographic, “Africa: Physical Geography”, 2018, www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/africa-physical-geography/, accessed: 23 November 2019.

  74. 74.

    United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, “The Demographic Profile of African Countries”, 2016, Addis Ababa.

  75. 75.

    Ibid., p. 8.

  76. 76.

    United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, “World Population Prospects 2019: Data Booklet”, ST/ESA/SER.A/424, 2019.

  77. 77.

    See for additional discussion: N. Ringas, “MENASat-Proposal for a Space-Based Refugee Assistance Programme”, in Space Fostering African Societies: Developing the African Continent through Space, Part 1, ed. A. Froehlich (Cham: Springer, 2020).

  78. 78.

    Transparency International, What is Transparency International, www.transparency.org/about, accessed: 21 January 2020.

  79. 79.

    Transparency International Secretariat, 2018 Corruption Perception Index, Germany, 2019, ISBN: 978-3-96076-116-7.

  80. 80.

    Ibid.

  81. 81.

    Ibid.

  82. 82.

    Ibid., p. 3.

  83. 83.

    V. Turner et al., Nigerian refugees struggle in aftermath of Boko Haram attacks, The UN Refugee Agency, 2019, https://www.unhcr.org/news/stories/2019/2/5c6139e74/nigerian-refugees-struggle-aftermath-boko-haram-attacks.html, accessed: 28 April 2020.

  84. 84.

    UNHCR, Somalia Situation 2017, The UN Refugee Agency, Geneva, 2017.

  85. 85.

    Frederic Wehrey, “Our hearts are dead.” After 9 years of civil war, Libyans are tired of being pawns in a geopolitical game of chess, Time USA, Libya, February 2020, https://time.com/5779348/war-libya-global-conflict/, accessed: 20 May 2020.

  86. 86.

    Mohamed A. Daw, Libyan armed conflict 2011: Mortality, injury and population displacement, Tripoli, Libya, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afjem.2015.02.002.

  87. 87.

    Al Jazeera Media Network, WHO: More than 1000 killed in battle for Libya’s Tripoli, Al Jazeera Media Network, July 2019, www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/1000-killed-battle-libya-tripoli-190708191029535.html, accessed: 20 May 2020.

  88. 88.

    BBC News, DR Congo country profile, BBC, January 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13283212, accessed: 20 May 2020.

  89. 89.

    The World Bank, The World Bank in DRC—Overview, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, The World Bank Group, May 2020, www.worldbank.org/en/country/drc/overview, accessed: 20 May 2020.

  90. 90.

    Human Rights Watch, Democratic Republic of Congo Events in 2018, Human Rights Watch, 2020, New York, USA, www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/democratic-republic-congo, accessed: 20 May 2020.

  91. 91.

    Ibid.

  92. 92.

    The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, Democracy Index 2018: Me Too?, London, 2019.

  93. 93.

    BBC News, Equatorial Guinea profile—leaders, BBC, 2014, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13317176, accessed: 28 April 2020.

  94. 94.

    BBC News, Chad profile, BBC, 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13164688, accessed: 28 April 2020.

  95. 95.

    The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, Democracy Index 2018: Me Too?, London, 2019.

  96. 96.

    Ibid.

  97. 97.

    Ibid.

  98. 98.

    The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, Democracy Index 2018: Me Too?, London, 2019.

  99. 99.

    Ibid.

  100. 100.

    Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2018—Methodology, https://freedomhouse.org/report/methodology-freedom-world-2018, accessed: 3 February 2020.

  101. 101.

    Ibid.

  102. 102.

    Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2019.

  103. 103.

    Ibid.

  104. 104.

    Ibid.

  105. 105.

    Ibid.

  106. 106.

    Ibid.

  107. 107.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Governance Report, 2019, Sect. 3, p. 67.

  108. 108.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, website: https://mo.ibrahim.foundation, accessed 13 January 2020.

  109. 109.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Governance Report, 2019, Sect. 3, p. 69.

  110. 110.

    J. Kahimbaara, Report on the Pan-African Statistical Institute, Programme implemented by Expertise France for the African-EU Partnership, Paris, France, https://au.int/en/ea/statistics/statafric, accessed: 27 November 2019.

  111. 111.

    Ibid.

  112. 112.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Governance Report, 2019, Sect. 3, p. 67.

  113. 113.

    Ibid.

  114. 114.

    Ibid.

  115. 115.

    AU-ECA, African Data Consensus, Eighth Joint Annual Meetings of the African Union, Ethiopia, 2015, www.uneca.org/sites/default/files/PageAttachments/final_adc_-_english.pdf, accessed: 3 February 2020.

  116. 116.

    Ibid.

  117. 117.

    Ibid.

  118. 118.

    European Commission and the Pan-African Programme, Pan African Statistics, Brochure, www.africa-eu-partnership.org/sites/default/files/pan_african_statistics_factsheet.pdf, accessed: 3 February 2020.

  119. 119.

    Ibid.

  120. 120.

    Ibid.

  121. 121.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Governance Report, 2019.

  122. 122.

    Open Data Watch is a non-profit organisation of data experts founded in 2013 who aim to support national statistical offices through policy advice, data support and monitoring work. The international organisation operates the Open Data Inventory (ODIN) which “assesses the coverage and openness of official statistics to help identify gaps, promote open data policies, improve access, and encourage dialogue between national statistical offices and data users. The data for 178 countries over the 2018/2019 period are available through their website: https://odin.opendatawatch.com/, accessed: 3 February 2020.

  123. 123.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Governance Report, 2019.

  124. 124.

    Ibid., p. 71.

  125. 125.

    UN DESA Statistics Department, Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics System, Statistical Papers, Series M, No. 19, Rev 3, New York, 2014.

  126. 126.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Governance Report, 2019.

  127. 127.

    Ibid.

  128. 128.

    UN DESA Statistics Department, Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics System, Statistical Papers, Series M, No. 19, Rev. 3, New York, 2014.

  129. 129.

    UN DESA Statistics Department, Principles and Recommendations for a Vital Statistics System, Statistical Papers, Series M, No. 19, Rev. 3, New York, 2018.

  130. 130.

    Ibid., para. 279.

  131. 131.

    Ibid., para. 4.

  132. 132.

    Ibid.

  133. 133.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Governance Report, 2019.

  134. 134.

    UN Statistics Division (UNSD), Demographic and Social Statistics—Coverage of Birth and Death Registration dataset, available for download in Excel format at https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/crvs/index.cshtml#coverage, accessed: 8 February 2020.

  135. 135.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Governance Report, 2019.

  136. 136.

    Open Data Watch, Open Data Inventory 2018/2019, https://odin.opendatawatch.com/, accessed: 3 February 2020.

  137. 137.

    APAI-CRVS, Why improving civil registration and vital statistics systems in Africa is important—Making Everyone Visible in Africa!, 2017, https://apai-crvs.org/sites/default/files/public/Making%20Everyone%20Visible_September%20EN%20_0.pdf, accessed: 3 February 2020.

  138. 138.

    APAI-CRVS, About APAI-CRVS, www.apai-crvs.org/about-apai, accessed: 3 February 2020.

  139. 139.

    APAI-CRVS, Why improving civil registration and vital statistics systems in Africa is important, 2017.

  140. 140.

    Ibid.

  141. 141.

    Ibid.

  142. 142.

    Ibid.

  143. 143.

    Ibid.

  144. 144.

    World Bank Group, Identification for Development (ID4D)—Making Everyone Count, https://pubdocs.worldbank.org/en/332831455818663406/WorldBank-Brochure-ID4D-021616.pdf, accessed: 3 February 2020.

  145. 145.

    Ibid.

  146. 146.

    Ibid.

  147. 147.

    Ibid.

  148. 148.

    Ibid.

  149. 149.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, The African Governance Report—Promoting African Union Shared Values, South Africa, 2019.

  150. 150.

    Ibid.

  151. 151.

    Ibid.

  152. 152.

    United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform, Sustainable Development Goals, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs, accessed: 8 February 2020.

  153. 153.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, The African Governance Report—Promoting African Union Shared Values, South Africa, 2019.

  154. 154.

    Ibid.

  155. 155.

    Ibid.

  156. 156.

    African Peer Review Mechanism, The African Governance Report—Promoting African Union Shared Values, South Africa, 2019.

  157. 157.

    Ibid.

  158. 158.

    Ibid.

  159. 159.

    Ibid.

  160. 160.

    Ibid.

  161. 161.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), https://mo.ibrahim.foundation/iiag, accessed: 8 February 2020.

  162. 162.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Governance Report, 2019.

  163. 163.

    The Sustainable Development Goals Center for Africa, 2019 Africa—SDG Index and Dashboard Report, June 2019.

  164. 164.

    Mo Ibrahim Foundation, African Governance Report, 2019.

  165. 165.

    Ibid.

  166. 166.

    Ibid.

  167. 167.

    Ibid.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. European Space Policy Institute, Vienna, Austria

    Annette Froehlich

  2. University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa

    Nicolas Ringas & James Wilson

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Correspondence to Annette Froehlich .

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Froehlich, A., Ringas, N., Wilson, J. (2020). A Look at Governance Throughout Africa. In: Space Supporting Africa. Studies in Space Policy, vol 28. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52260-5_1

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