In the first quarter of 2011, there emerged what has been described as the"Arab Spring". North African countries stepped up to the plate and fought for independence and democracy for their respective countries. Egypt,Tunisia and Libya have seen revolutions that have changed the course of their history. This has shown the thirst for many people to seek true democracy and independence and getting autocratic and tyrannical leaders out of their political systems.
All African countries elect their presidents/prime ministers through democratic elections except Swaziland which is last African Monarchy. This means that most African countries enjoy some form of democracy. But the question is are African countries really democratic? Is Malawi democratic or does it pretend to be a democracy?! Are African leaders born dictators or tyrants? Why do we have allot of post-election violence in Africa? What can be done to produce true democracies in Africa and reduce the reproduction of dictators and tyrants?!
The democratic and political structure in Malawi and other African countries puts the president literary above everything. The president is above the judiciary and the legislature which are other arms of government. Sadly enough in other countries the president is above the constitution which is the highest law of the land which the president vows to protect,uphold and preserve. This gives the head of state more powers to choose heads of parastatal bodies,courts,electoral commission e.t.c who become easy to corrupt and manipulate. THIS SYSTEM HAS BECOME A BREEDING GROUND FOR TYRANTS AND DICTATORS IN AFRICA!
This system has to change so that the legislature and the judiciary become independent in their own right and that none of the three arms of government is seen to be above the other. This will for example ensure that judgement passed by the courts or the electoral comission will be credible and therefore reduce most of these problems occurring in Malawi at the moment. All Malawians should ensure that the constitution is upheld,respected and protected.
Most people in Africa are poor. There is unemployment,injustice,corruption and extreme poverty. Alot of young people are used by politicians to achieve their selfish goals. Anger builds up in people which is seen in post-election violence. African countries must ensure that unemployment is tackled and that poverty is reduced. Education should be for and deliberate policies should be put in place to ensure indeed that all people are receiving the same treatment when it comes to education. This will empower alot of people which will aid their economic independence and freedom thereby reducing ther likelihood of being used by politicians. Justice should be for all regardless of status or position in society. A reduction in corruption will ensure that scarce national resources will be directed at improving the life of the society as a whole.
It is crystal clear that most African politicians do not care about their peoples problems. They care about the next elections. Most presidents perform badly during their last term of office. The 20 July,2011 demonstrations in Malawi were a clear testimony that the current Malawi president is not living up to the expectations of the entire citizenry. Political independence does not mean economic freedom. Dr Bakili Muluzi once said "running government is serious business". The current Bingu administration must realize that people should not be taken for granted. Social media like Facebook, twitter and other internet chatrt forums enable people to communicate easily therefore any attempt to suppress them will lead to to people becoming more aware of what is going on around them.
Africa needs to change. This must start with leaders running the affairs of the state. Clinging to power as it is in Zimbabwe and Libya will not help. Africa has the potential of developing but this means its leaders have to be progressive. Africans in diaspora (including doctors,lawyers, engineers,teachers,managers e.t.c) should come back and lead the journey to success. The expertise in their respective fields can be of great importance in the development and the emancipation of Africa. If we want change to take place we must be change.Africa has both human and material resources it requires in order to develop. All that is required are the drivers of change. So lets go!!!!!
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