Hollywood time for the Mandelas: The politics of representation

by Siphokazi Magadla and Bose Maposa.

Invictus is the latest Clint Eastwood movie coming out December 11, 2009. The movie is based on Nelson Mandela’s term as president at the dawn of the founding of the new democratic South Africa and his crusade to create a rainbow nation. Mandela’s quest for racial integration and human rights was first realized through the South African rugby team, the Springboks, which in 1995 triumphed as the World’s Rugby Champions. Named after the famous poem by William Ernest Henley, Invictus promises to recreate the historic scenes of post apartheid South Africa and the buildup to 1995, which for many South Africans, for the Africans that sacrificed so much to end Apartheid, and for the world at large, sent a clear message to the world saying: “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul” making true of Henley’s famous words.   Nelson Mandela is played by Hollywood icon Morgan Freeman, while the Springboks captain Francois Pienaar is played by Matt Damon. The trailer is chilling as one is reminded of yet another historic moment that is upon South Africa in the next 2010 FIFA World Cup-and once again, the country will be playing host.

Another Hollywood movie in the pipelines is about the life of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Nelson Mandela ex-wife and for many South Africans, the Mother of the Nation. A BBC article reported on November 19 that Jennifer Hudson is to star as the powerful Winnie. Looking at Morgan Freeman attempting Mandela’s unique voice and imagining Jennifer Hudson as the strong, powerful and beautiful Winnie, one cannot help but wonder, does a story about Winnie and Nelson Mandela really need to be portrayed by famous Hollywood actors to gain the world’s attention? Is it necessary that such powerful African icons be represented by foreigners? Or aren’t Africa’s actors famous or saleable enough to play Winnie and Mandela?

The Last King of Scotland, the 2006 film based on Uganda’s Idi Amin saw Forest Whitaker win the highest honor of Best Actor in the Academy Awards of 2007 for his portrayal of the Ugandan dictator. A year before that however, Tsotsi the South African movie, won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film, a first time for an African movie. Tsotsi had a cast of internationally unknown actors, of which the lead actor was just as unfamiliar even in his native country South Africa. This is unlike Catch a Fire starring Academy Award winning actor Tim Robbins and Derek Luke in the life story of Patrick Chamusso. Although the movie was afforded critical acclaim, it nevertheless did not gain the same attention as Tsotsi. As well, when reflecting on the success of the 1992 hit movie Sarafina, one wonders why the movie producers who chose Morgan Freeman and Jenifer Hudson did not think of African actors. Are they not best suited to tell African stories? Despite the fact that Whoopi Goldberg played a significant role in the movie, it was Leleti Khumalo, a South African, who was the main actor. The same Leleti Khumalo who starred in the 2005 Oscar nominated film Yesterday.

The HBO TV series, The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, based on the best-selling novels by Alexander McCall Smith about Precious Ramotswe, the only female detective in Botswana, stars Jill Scott. Despite local (in Botswana) auditions to find the lead actor, it was reported that no local actress was suitable for the role, and thus Jill Scott was selected. It would be difficult to start to argue if the series was adopted by HBO because of Jill Scott or because it is a fair representation of the Tswana culture. And thus the unanswered questions include: is it the reputation of the actors or the message of the movie that makes it a hit? Should we even be bothered?

One cannot deny the publicity brought about by international actors, just as much as we cannot deny the pain felt by the local audiences when these actors butcher the local languages and accents (e.g Jill Scott and Morgan Freeman to name a few). Nonetheless, the ability of famous actors to gain a larger audience should not hinder us from a discussion about the implications of such endeavors. Indeed it is important to acknowledge that perhaps the role of international faces bringing attention to unknown stories catch the world off-guard to such an extent that there will be further interest in the stories coming from that country told by local artists.

While it cannot be denied that small independent movies (which usually have unknown actors as the main characters) often fail to make it big at the box office and realistically, making movies is all about making money, this should not denounce  the fact that international actors are not always needed to boost the sales of a movie. The stories of developing nations should not be left up to Hollywood to tell as Tsotsi and Slumdog Millionaire have clearly shown. Neither is it always necessary to have internationally acclaimed actors as the main actors. If the developing world is attempting a shift away from a Western type of development embedded in the dominant paradigm of the modernization theory that portrays cultures of the developing world as inferior to that of the West as it has been argued by some developing world scholars such as Columbia’s Escobar; we must certainly caution against the dominance of such paradigms in the arts.

Is it unreasonable to argue that the people of the world would still go to watch a movie about Gandhi played by a local Indian actor? So why wouldn’t we be confident that a South African actor should be given the chance to portray the world statesman Nelson Mandela? The Mandelas are gigantic African icons, known internationally, and thus their stories are sellable, regardless of who portrays them. We can even go as far as to argue that Nelson Mandela is much better known figure internationally than Morgan Freeman, much like Winnie Mandela is arguably more internationally known female icon than Jennifer Hudson.

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The sugar-daddy syndrome and girl’s education in Benin: Implications for democracy

by Kristina (Nickie) Séne. Nickie is a graduate student studying International Development Studies at Ohio University.

As a direct result of the new momentum surrounding sexual harassment internationally and the continued prevalence of teacher-student sexual relationships in the Beninese education system more specifically, several Beninese NGOs initiated an “intense lobbying” campaign of the Ministry of Education, eventually leading to the signing of a new policy on sexual harassment in schools (Wible, 2005).  This sexual harassment legislation was introduced in 2006 by Lamatou Alaza, one of the three women serving on the national assembly at the time (Amusa & Mowad, 2006).  Sexual harassment by educators has been increasingly cited as a major impediment to girls’ education and development because of the plethora of dangers and risks it generates. It is a major contributor to the high dropout rate of female students, demonstrated by UNESCO’s 2006 statistics that show for every 100 Beninese girls who enter primary school, less than 39% in urban areas and 14% in rural areas are able to transition to secondary school. This is related to the fact that sexual harassment contributes to a lack of participation and underachievement and a variety of physical and mental health issues, including the transmission of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, early/unplanned pregnancy, a low self-esteem, and depression (Akpo, 2008). Reflecting on the  introductory article by Aggrey Willis, where he cited David Mailu’s cultural concept of democracy, it is evident that as we ‘move beyond the realm of politics’, the sugar-daddy syndrome is a vivid abuse of power and thus a peril to democracy.

Sugar-daddy, an American slang term for a rich man who offers money or gifts to a less rich younger female, in return for sexual favors, has been appropriated and adopted in Beninese culture coined by the French term, papa gâteau. Much like the unwarranted appropriation of the term sexual harassment, the term “sugar daddy” seems inappropriate for the uneven rates of exchange in these relationships. In a Western context, sugar daddy relationships are typically defined by an exchange of sex for luxury items, expensive purses, shoes or even cars, not small items like soap and charcoal. The monetary value of these latter items and their “necessity” makes these relationships more problematic and exploitative because of the risks involved for such small stakes of gain and make a significant difference in how we can address these situations.

In Benin, where one out of three girls does not attend school and the literacy rate for women between 15 and 24 is only 33.2%, there are a variety of obstacles girls face in gaining access to a safe and affordable education (United Nations, 2007). Several external barriers, which have been identified and recognized in Beninese government initiatives and NGO projects, include the price of school fees, poverty and societal norms and there has been remarkable progress in addressing these issues and increasing girls’ enrollment (Wynd, 1999). “Toutes les filles à l’école” (All girls in school), is an ongoing collaborative government campaign sponsored by various NGOs and international organizations, which has been successful in creating a visible space for girls’ education in the country and putting girls’ access to schooling at the forefront of public dialogue via government-sponsored billboards, radio programs, taxi drivers’ t-shirts and other communication development strategies. Yet, as Benin begins to approach a more equitable balance in female/male enrollment at the primary school level, a closer examination of emerging issues of gender disparity in secondary school enrollment has brought about the unfortunate realization that schools are often perceived as unsafe environments for girls. Led by development practitioners, educators, and researchers, this realization has led the Beninese government to pay more attention to the numerous obstacles and safety issues which restrict or limit female achievement, enrollment, and overall wellbeing inside the classroom (Akpo, 2008). 

In my own study, I explore sexual relationships between teachers and students in an ethnographic approach that attempted to categorize and conceptualize sexual harassment via culturally specific perceptions of the phenomenon. During the initial field work, I found that all parties (parents, teachers, administrators and students) were open to admitting that teacher-student sexual relationships do occur. However these parties have conflicting views as to who initiates these relationships and how they should be viewed. Although, there have been limited radio programs or television shows which have addressed the topic publically, individuals involved in these relationships typically remain silent due to the stigma attached to premarital sex and the taboo nature of the interactions. Rural media strategies must be more fully developed in order to reach populations living outside of Benin’s larger cities and regional capitals. Current laws and policies turned out to be problematic, as “protecting” girls from teachers turns out to be much more complicated than condemning teacher violators since the primary justification for student/teacher sexual relationships was more deeply rooted in poverty, development disparities, and limited social mobility options.

Sex between teachers and students emerged as a very transactional process: a direct exchange of sex for money (with poverty or development disparities as a motivating factor) and/or grades (with corruption of the system as a major factor). Although the practice of giving lower grades/scores than deserved as a punishment for girls who refuse teachers’ advances is critical and must not be undermined here or elsewhere, many relationships in schools are in fact perceived as consensual, although poverty-induced,  and involve complex levels of silent or overt parental encouragement and normalization. The implications of economic disparities and developmental opportunity become important in understanding the root causes of teacher-student relationships because they create economic incentives for students and parents to accept them.

The complexities of parental complacency came up repeatedly as research participants suggested that low-income families were more likely to accept teachers' advances because of a combination of the monetary benefits of these relationships and as a result of the loss of negotiating power between parents and their daughters. Many student participants made a distinction between rich and poor students emphasizing that rich girls exchanged sex for grades whereas poor girls were more likely to accept their teachers' advances in exchange for money or gifts. The direct benefits of sleeping with teachers included extra points on assignments and exams, more leniency in the classroom, peer prestige and material gifts like cell phones, shoes, jewelry, bags, fabric or pocket money to purchase small everyday items such as phone credit, soap, snacks and meals, hair braiding, or make-up.

Top-down government policies addressing sexual harassment have proven to be insufficient, granting the media the critical role of changing local perceptions of the phenomenon and creating more open space for dialogue addressing these issues at the community level. If the media is to effectively execute its role as society’s watchdog, there is a need to resurrect this public dialogue, and direct it towards pragmatic solutions. Viewing the girl students’ role in the phenomenon as active agents, initiating, accepting and refusing these relationships versus helpless victims should aid in changing development strategies.

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Is GIS/Mobile Broadband demand for South Africa 2010 the answer to better governance?

by Reuben Dlamini

With the 2010 World Cup Soccer in South Africa seven months away, avid soccer fans have been watching relentlessly as Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria (South Africa as the host nation has automatic qualification) secured their place and representation of the continent of Africa by qualifying for the event. Much of this uncontrollable anticipation and excitement by fans of the ‘beautiful game’ has been evident in the growth of blogs and other technological enhanced driven tools.  This avid growth which has led to an increasing digitally-mediated discussion about the World Cup is representative of Africa’s unprecedented broadband growth within a short space of time. It is perhaps more exciting to note that this demand for faster connection and up to date information about the World Cup qualifiers can potentially have long lasting positive impacts on the way governments such as facilitating better and faster communication between government ministries thus facilitating collaboration; this at the least would help end the frustration of lack of access to government data. As well, this growth in broadband will enable security agencies to use real-time systems to map patterns to fight crime and other social impediments that is currently facing many African countries, such as the host South Africa.

The huge investments on infrastructure development especially in telecommunications will not go unnoticed. AfricaNext Investment Research group expects Africa’s broadband markets to grow more than fourfold in five years to 12.7 million users from 2.7 million in 2007.  Internet accessing via portable computers and via cellular networks would benefit users a lot as mobile broadband in some areas can be the best alternative for end users. Mobile broadband describes various types of wireless high-speed Internet access through portable devices, and it has various network standards like now popular 3G and MiMax. Mobile operators are leveraging the popularity of cell phones to get a share of the fixed broadband market. In fact, they have an upper hand in the emerging Information and Communication Technology network markets.

Even though fixed and mobile broadband have their own pros and cons, mobile broadband is the best alternative for Africa as it is completely based on the wavelength of mobile phone networks, while fixed broadband can induce unnecessary attenuation. Another advantage of mobile broadband is that you can take it with you wherever you go. Even those who reside in remote areas will get a chance to access emails, check the results during the games and keep them updated on the latest news.  In the past downloading in mobile broadband has been a problem, but with the billions of dollars being invested in telecommunications infrastructure such challenges will be conquered. As we invest huge amounts of money on fixed broadband we should remember that it could be indispensable due to its unique features.

As the continent makes progress in infrastructure development, integrated spatially oriented data will be digitized through mappings to examine patterns within data.

The application of Geographic Information System (GIS) will be a great way forward to learn from spatial data. GIS is defined as the constellation of hardware and software that integrates computer graphics with rational database for the purpose of managing data about geographic location. Governments in developing countries can map demographic attributes of various areas of interests: zoning, population density, fires, flood plain analysis, tracking crime locations, etc.

This technology has the ability to bring layers of information from multiple datasets to uncover spatial relationships for development purposes and overcome some of the challenges facing our governments. We need a system that provides a proactive prevention, fast detection of patterns of natural hazards, and forceful resolution. The technology could benefit governments more, as it permeates the ministries, links divisions, integrates data sources to help create new knowledge and overcome territorial boundaries. The tool can be useful in mapping governments’ resources and those of the constituencies and thus helping us to understand interrelationships among resources, the human environment, and physical environment of the continent. With governments facing their own unique challenges GIS can be customized to meet their needs by providing a collaborative environment, which could prove to be a valuable asset to an interconnected institution and constituencies. The decision-making process becomes distributed throughout different stakeholders.

GIS will add value to data with spatial characteristics instead of being treated as a nondynamic analyzed through static graphs, tables, and maps. With GIS on our side, we can produce geospatial representations of data and help plan for future events through various techniques that can be used for forecasting, mapping where things are, mapping the most and least, mapping change, and answering what-if-scenarios. Some of the examples in which GIS is being used currently to study how disease spreads, to develop and deliver Web-based educational resources, crop analysis, streamline national parks, etc are: in Botswana  for water resource modeling; in South Africa for coastal marine management; in Ghana for management information services; in Kenya for land resources; in Uganda for forest biomass; UNDP in Somali  for planning large campaigns such as vaccinations and the rehabilitation of water wells.

With the proliferation of affordable Internet connecting and open source technology tools there will be an improvement in collecting and dissemination of information. Most of us know that the internet evolved out of survival strategies in the military during the terrible political times of the Cold War and hence the coming of the World Cup to Africa in a much happier global event premises to positively redefine communication in Africa to a reality of social change and development.  Yet, for any of this potential to develop there is a need for a political will in the leadership as these exciting technological changes promise a potential change in the running of governments in Africa from business as ‘usually slow and mundane’ to business at the speed of lightning.

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The Mo Ibrahim Prize: ‘Africa’ should be the winner

by Halif Sarki, a graduate Student at University of South Africa

The Mo-Ibrahim prize for good governance on the African continent has not been awarded this year as the Prize Committee could not reportedly “select a winner”. The Ibrahim prize is awarded after a ‘thorough’ examination, by the Prize Committee, of the prospective candidates through the microscope of an array of criteria including being democratically elected; serving within constitutional limits; and having left office in the last three years. Other key criterion includes the candidate’s contribution towards peace, security and development; and the promotion of democratic values and institutions. Does this then mean that good African leaders are hard to come by? Even more critical, what are the implications for freedom and the rule of law in Africa?

The Prize Committee is comprised of internationally respected figures such as, among others, Mohamed Elbaradei, Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (AIEA), the former Organisation of African Union Secretary General Salim Ahmed Salim, the former Finnish president, Marti Ahtisaari and Former United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Anan who also chairs the committee. The laureate chosen by the committee is to receive a hefty ‘cheque’ of US$5 million over ten years with an additional US$200,000 per year for life thereafter. Since the establishment of the Mo-Ibrahim foundation in 2006, the selection committee has never failed to announce a winner. Previous recipients include former Presidents Joachim Chissano from Mozambique (2007), Festus Mogae from Botswana (2008), as well as Nelson Mandela from South Africa who was an honorary recipient in 2007.

The question on everyone’s lips when the prize could not be attributed this year was obviously, ‘why?’ thus entrenching the feeling that there must be a few former presidents on the African continent who objectively deserve the illustrious distinction. From the top of the head one could nominate, as potential laureates, former South African President Thabo Mbeki or former Ghanaian President John Kufuor or even former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo for their commendable achievements in their respective countries and in Africa at large. Some would add to those three the likes of Ahmed Tejan Kabbah from Sierra Leone or Mathieu Kerekou from Benin. All five potential candidates seem to meet the preliminary criteria as they were all democratically elected; all served within constitutional term limits; and all left power in the last three years. So what is to be understood in the non-attribution of the prize this year? The ‘why’ question still lingers even weeks after the decision was announced as there has not been an official explanation given. 

Since the exhaustive list of criteria used by the Prize Committee remains elusive, one cannot fully and accurately analyse the selection of a particular candidate or, in this instance, the selection of no candidate. This, however, should not undermine the integrity or objectiveness of the committee but rather encourage the latter to maintain its purportedly high standards for assessing African leaders.

 The choice not to award the prize could therefore point to a deteriorating quality of leadership in Africa.  We can submit that the recent spite of unconstitutional transfer of power in Madagascar, Mauritania, and Guinea as well as the disregard for the constitution in Niger and Zimbabwe seriously tarnishes Africa’s remarkable progress on the path of freedom and the rule of law. Even then Africa’s democratic evolution remains appealing. African leaders now tend to use constitutional means to legitimise their rule. This is a considerable leap from the total autocratic rule of the early postcolonial years. One should bear in mind that it took centuries of wars and reforms to arrive at the ‘polished’ western model of democracy that we know.

Yet, I will argue that the selection criteria should be weighed against the structural and systemic challenges faced by African leaders, and the consistent democratic progress on the continent since the early 1990s. In that case one would certainly have to recognise that leadership in Africa has substantially improved and that such improvements should be acknowledged. If still no suitable candidate, then one could humbly suggest that the selection be widened to include civil society and other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as individuals whose efforts undeniably contribute to the socio-economic development of the African continent. The recent granting of the Right livelihood award or more commonly known as the Alternative Nobel to the Congolese Rene Ngongo of Greenpeace prize is one such example.  The award in itself demonstrates that no one prize can fully satisfy the need to reward the many individuals who contribute to development. Furthermore, it demonstrates that there are Africans, not only Presidents, capable of good leadership.

Africa still has a long way to go and positive efforts along the road should be acknowledged rather than painting the whole continent with the same brush of failure. For a continent faced with many challenges, the call for good leadership remains critical in all sectors. Whilst Presidents are the head, we cannot deny the importance of the rest of the body.  Those answering the call for good leadership must be acknowledged beyond the state houses. 

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How good is African media for democracy?

by Aggrey Willis Otieno. Aggrey is a Communications and Development Ford Foundation International Fellow at Ohio University.

Seen Jacobs contends that the health of democracy in 21^st century is associated to the health systems of communication. The dynamics of democracy are closely associated to the practices of communication, and societal communication increasingly takes place within the mass media. Concern for democracy therefore necessitates a concern about the press. Consequently, the role of the press in agitating for democratization should never be disregarded in any analysis. Unfortunately, discourses on democratization in Africa are usually presented by the western media as though they are entirely foreign to Africans and yet on the other hand the media in Africa has always turned a blind eye to the exigencies committed by the political elites to the masses.

Media development in Africa can be grouped into three epochs: colonial, transitional and post-transitional. During each era, the media exhibited editorial policies and norms that reflected the ideological and socio-political milieu of the continent.  In the colonial era, the media mirrored the settler-colonial philosophy of the state and social schism along racial lines. Its successor in the post-colonial transitional era depicted the revolutionary vehemence of the emergent black political regime whose stated ideology of socialism regimented African countries under an authoritarian state. In a dramatic turnaround from the nationalist campaign promises for a free press and free expression in independent African nations during this period, media was coerced to support the governments of the day. In this set-up the clarion call has been: You are either with us or against us. Within this breadth, one can analyze the segue of democracy within the African continent.

Despite the fact that in modern times the concept of democracy as it refers to Africa has been reduced to elections, multiparty system, and universal suffrage, pre-colonial Africa boasts of different concepts of participatory democratic governance which evolved and survived until the European invasion of Africa in the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, as this era falls outside of the realm of media development in Africa, little can be said about its relation to the concept of democracy. Nonetheless, this era helps us define democracy as it is understood by African communities.

This broader concept of democracy includes David Mailu’s cultural definition of democracy in which African democracy, like philosophy, had to be lived.  For him, African communities were socially and politically structured so that “everybody participated according to his ability, age, status, and wishes . . . everybody was invited to the democracy cooking pot”. African democracy, therefore, went beyond the realm of politics; to form an integral part of the peoples’ culture, which allowed everyone a sense of belonging. It was a “practical democracy as opposed to conjectural democracy,” which required people to be more sensitive and responsible for their neighbors’ well-being. Mailu’s definition of democracy has been echoed by leaders such as Mandela as well, who has constantly declared that he learnt about democracy from the manner in which his father ruled his chieftaincy in the village of Mvezo in the former Transkei in South Africa.

Scholars have indicated that in the period preceding colonial rule, Africans experimented with a variety of political systems ranging from direct and representative democracy to various forms of monarchical and decentralized systems. The indigenous political organization of the Igbo of southeastern Nigeria presents one of the most elaborate examples of participatory democracy in traditional Africa. Apart from a few centralized polities such as Nri, Onitsha, Oguta, and Osomari that were monarchical systems, the Igbo operated a decentralized political system.

Another example of participatory democracy is the pre-colonial political structure of Agikuyu in Kenya. Among the Agikuyu, as among the Igbo, there was no sole paramount ruler; eligible adults constituted the legislative assembly. “In the eyes of the Agikuyu people, as Jomo Kenyatta asserted in his book facing Mount Kenya, “the submission to a despotic rule of any particular man or group, white or black is the greatest humiliation to mankind. The genesis of Gikuyu democracy is personified in their historical-political legend. According to this legend, a tyrannical ruler who was ultimately overthrown by the people initially ruled Gikuyuland. After his overthrow, the leadership of the Agikuyu was at once changed from repression to a democracy which was in keeping with the wishes of the majority. This popular rebellion is known as itwika, derived from the twika, which signified the breaking away from dictatorship to democracy.

The Buganda Empire of Uganda is another good example of an “absolute king” whose powers were checked by parliament. While the Kabaka (the king) was, in principle, supreme, he governed the kingdom in conjunction with a prime minister (katikkiro) and a parliament (lukiiko) that not only ensured representation according to the notion of modern democracy but also limited the powers of the king to avoid tyranny. 

With the European occupation of Africa, we see the development of a media that reflects Europena ideologies concerning Africa. European colonial occupation and the ensuing colonial rule disrupted these political systems. The existing indigenous democratic values were destabilized and replaced with the dictatorship of the colonial governors. Unfortunately, the totalitarianism and wanton brutality of the colonial governors was adopted by African nationalists and later aped by African post independence leaders such as Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Idi Amin of Uganda, Sekou Toure of Guinea, Mobutu Seseseko of Congo, and Daniel Moi of Kenya. Akin to colonial rulers, these leaders became very imperious and viewed almost all forms of criticism and disagreement against their policies as treason. Hence, the fundamental principle of African traditional government, that is, rule by consent of the ruled was all but shattered by the imposition of colonial rule and was scathingly mangled when the one-party state allowed the emergence of ambitious, corrupt, and tyrannical African leaders, many in military uniform, after independence. So far the multi-party democracy has only worsened the situation.

As evidenced in Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea and Eritrea have taken deliberate steps to limit media scrutiny. Rwanda, Kenya, Gabon and Ethiopia have demonstrated similar tendencies. This calls for a more viable and sustainable key to the problem of democracy and democratization in the continent, as Basil Davidson posits, that lie in forging a new practical synthesis that derives “firmly from the African past, yet fully accepts the challenges of the African present”.  The task of the African media therefore is to claim their space as the fourth estate. It’s the duty of the media to remind African leadership and the world at large about their deep democratic tradition that African governance emerges from without of course glossing over the tragic legacy of colonialism.

It is thus crucial to note a number of developments have given rise to a new generation, albeit a minority, of more assertive, independent journalists. Free and efficient media can play a vital role in improving democracy in Africa. Lessons can be learnt from the experience of Al-Jazeera satellite Television. Though it went on air in 1996, it has improved transparency and accountability across the Middle –East.  However, is the African media- the fourth estate in Africa up to the task given that they are mostly owned and controlled by the African political elites? How can it be strengthened to effectively play its role as the watch dog and agenda setter? What alternatives do we have with the advancements in information and communication technologies? What about the Face book/twitter generation? Is there space for community media? Is it possible for us too to have a Pan-African broadcaster with similar consequences as Al Jazeera?

This media and democracy series by the Bokamoso Leadership Forum will explore in detail some of the themes introduced here. 

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