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As there are different authors for the articles on this blog, each article does not necessarily reflect the views of the Bokamoso Leadership Forum.

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28 September 2009

Soap-operatization Of Politics In Madagascar

by Domoina Rakotoson who is a graduate student studying African Studies at Ohio University


Failing to be a model of peaceful succession of regimes and leaders, African politics has the sad merit to provide us with a variety of dramas as interesting as soap operas1 . Each season is never without sudden revivals. Moreover, the main characters persist years after years at the front scene, never too old to retire. After years of silence, a character reappears as if they never left; and the audience, who had asked for his departure, is now acclaiming this triumphant return. The case of Madagascar illustrates an interesting example of political resistance, and probably the collective short memory of a people.

On March 17th, Andry Rajoelina the mayor of Antananarivo, backed by the army, overthrew Marc Ravalomanana, two times elected president. Rajoelina’s main argument was that Ravalomanana was a dictator who had enriched himself at the expense of the population. What has happened since then? A large crowd as numerous as the one that supported Rajoelina held daily demonstration in Antananarivo, denouncing the coup and asking for the prompt return to power of Ravalomanana. They shouted: “ Avereno dadanay! Avereno dadanay!” (“Give us back our dad!”) referring to Ravalomanana as the father of the nation. It progressively appeared however that a return of Ravalomanana in the country would create more problems than solutions.  Spreading to other cities  and abroad, especially in France where there is a strong Malagasy Diaspora, the movement progressively changed into agitation for a return to constitutional rule and a call for elections. Web political activism vigorously participated to spread news and opinion, where debates were usually harsher. On his part, Ravalomanana continued his self advocacy through visitations to various African leaders and institutions. From Swaziland he went to Libya, en route South Africa where he finally settled. The international community seemed also confused about the situation. Although it did not recognize the high authority of transition led by the puschist Rajoelina,  neither did it support the return of Ravalomanana to power. The African community suggested mediation to find a solution about the crisis- the stalemate of today. 

To fully understand the following episodes, let us go back briefly to the political history of Madagascar and review all the characters. Before his election as president, Ravalomanana was the mayor of Antananarivo from 1999 to 2001 during Didier Ratsiraka’s presidential mandate. He won the 2001 presidential elections against Ratsiraka, after a long conflict which paralyzed the country for seven months. In July 2002, the Constitutional Court finally recognized Ravalomanana as the winner of the first round of the elections with 51.46 % after the recount of the votes. Ratsiraka left the country for the second time in his life–the first was after losing the 1993 elections. In 1991, Ratsiraka was forced to step down from power after a general strike led  by Albert Zafy, another central character in this soap opera. Amazingly, Ratsiraka soon came back to power, through elections. In total, Ratsiraka has participated in six out of the seven presidential elections held in Madagascar since 19752, winning four. During his last mandate (1997-2001), he was criticized and even mocked to be too old. No one would have bet to see him back in 2009.

Zafy, mentioned above, is another interesting character whose moment of glory was during the 1991 crisis and the victory over Ratsiraka during the 1993 elections. Nonetheless, three years later he was impeached by the National Assembly- a defeat that did not prevent him from running for the next presidential elections – against Ratsiraka (again!) – in 1997 (49%) and 2001(5.07%).

Now, the three gladiators - Ravalomanana, Ratsiraka and Zafy are back after an invitation to join efforts in solving the crisis in Madagascar. But why involve Ratsiraka and Zafy? The former, rumored to have been involved in the coup, is coming from exile in Paris since 2002, while the latter’s only merit seems to be his political perseverance. It is hard to understand. The unofficial explanation is that the 2002 political crisis has never been completely resolved. In fact, Ratsiraka‘s henchmen have continued to stand against Ravalomanana, especially because of the condemnations of some former leaders. On his part, Zafy has always advocated for a National Reconciliation after the 2002 crisis, without substantial success. He has gathered around him some political loyalists who are opposed to Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka.

The First Maputo Conference (because there will be a second one like those successful movies) on August 5th was held to find durable solutions to the Malagasy crisis and to prepare anticipated presidential elections. It was organized by the SADC under the mediation of Joaquim Chissano, the former Mozambican president. A government of “opening” was suggested whereby the four parties would share power. This appearance of successful accord soon evaporated since the four parties did not understand its dynamics.. Who was going to do what? Who is going to be where? The main obstacle is that Rajoelina did not make any concession to let go of the key positions - presidency of the transition and prime-minister.. Although the three other parties would accept, surely bitterly, that the presidency belongs to Rajoelina, they did not accept the prime minister position to remain in Rajoelina’s camp. The impasse led to the Maputo II (26-28th August 2009), another meeting to clarify the application of the first accord. The communiqué of Maputo II is unfortunately bleak and no exit to the crisis seems visible.

Like soap operas, the main characters remain and the story development is slow, paddling through. The current political crisis in Madagascar illustrates how hitherto overthrown, impeached, and ousted presidents are back to the political arena. But what is sad is that the young generation has learned a negative lesson-to keep a firm hold onto power (acquired legally or not). When Rajoelina fought for the resignation of Ravalomanana, he claimed that he was not interested to be the president but to lead the transition. Only a few months after, he is the main impediment to the application of the first Maputo accord. Ironically, the status of the mediator of the Malagasy crisis  Joaquim Chissano, recipient of the Mo Ibrahim prize, which is given to any president who accepts to retire from power to allow peaceful political transition does not seem to have inspired any soul searching in Madagascar’s political characters regarding their exit from long seasons of power . If the ‘big heads’ in the political arena are having an iron grip onto power, the other characters are waffling. Regrettably, the population is the first victim and it will take time for the economy to rebound again. The deadline of 40 days given by the SADC to solve the crisis has now expired; international sanctions are looming to be slammed on the country. Even though the population has hopelessly accepted these political dinosaurs, it is without a doubt that they hope for a better end, a real finale without reruns. While waiting, follow the story for I am sure the next episodes will be full of interesting revivals, nevertheless.
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1 A drama, typically performed as a serial on daytime television or radio, characterized by stock characters and situations, sentimentality, and melodrama
2 Ratsiraka was accepted as the new head of state after the referendum of 21st December 1975; then won the elections of 1982, 1989 and 1997
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22 September 2009

The Media in Africa and Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (Part II)

This is the second article in the two-part series by Andy Ofori-Birikorang. Andy recently received his PhD from Ohio University.

It is imperative to note that the discussions that preceded the establishment of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) in Ghana were filled with acrimony. This acrimonious state was fuelled by the media, especially the two camps of the so-called private-independent media that had emerged in Ghana 1.  Representatives of these camps articulated, contested and submitted their versions of ‘truth’ through newspapers, radio and television.

The NRC was established by the Kufuor-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government which came into power in January 2001. Some of the leaders of this party had been victims of the past military regimes.  In support of the campaign for the establishment of the NRC was a set of buoyant private- independent media that comprised journalists who were either victims of torture and abuse under country’s military regimes, anti-military regimes proponents, or human rights advocates. This media camp constituted one group that could be classified as the pro-NPP private-independent media. The other media category that emerged viewed the NRC as a political witch-hunt tool that, according to them, aimed at vilifying leading members of past military regimes, especially the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) led by Jerry John Rawlings. Rawlings himself was for 19 years military dictator before transforming into a democratically elected president from 1992-2000. Most of the violations and abuses which the NRC investigated fell under the period of his reign.  The media category that supported the regimes of Rawlings constituted the pro-NDC private independent group.

While witnesses unraveled narratives of abuses and violations, and others defended or refuted allegations made against them before the commission, the two media sections elected themselves as evaluator mechanisms for subjecting such versions to the ‘truth’ test. In others words a witness’ version of truth would pass the test in relation to a particular section of the media’s subjective notion of ‘truth’.
As indicated earlier, the pro-NDC media championed resistance to the establishment of the NRC or called for several amendments to the Act in the bid to prevent the commission from focusing solely on military regimes. They posited that it was only when those amendments were made to the existing provisions of the Act that some attempt would be made at arriving at the truth. They also contended that the ‘truth’ about the nation’s past abuses could not be limited to only military regimes because several examples of abuses occurred under civilian regimes. Furthermore, the pro-NDC media stressed that the composition of the NRC and its supporting technical team were strong indications that ‘truth’ was to be compromised. They alleged that members of the NRC, and the National Security apparatus that assisted the commission during investigations, were either perceived victims or enemies of some of the alleged perpetrators who appeared before the commission 2 .  This media group subjected all versions of allegations made against members of (P)NDC to their own evaluator mechanism of the ‘truth’ test. They countered or refuted a witness’s allegations, hyped or emphasized the apparent contradictions in some of the allegations, or gave platforms to other supporters of perceived perpetrators to deride witnesses’ stories or invoke a history of some their past dishonest statements and political activities to damage the credibility of their stories. In others cases, the media published, or aired press statements of denials of allegations made against members of their camp.  Indeed, even though some of the witnesses against whom allegations were made had appeared before the commission, some of the statements circulated by their media camp were not made before the commission. However, they contended what was revealed before the commission, or published by the opposing camp was not the whole ‘truth’. The ‘truth’ was what that the media, belonging to their camp had published or aired in a press statement.

On the other hand, the pro-NPP section of the media touted most of the stories and allegations as painful truth of the country’s horrible past that should be acknowledged by perpetrators and victims in order to reconcile the nation and move the country forward. Generally, many of the stories shared before the NRC were in consonance with the pro-NPP media.  As their evaluator mechanism, they pieced fragments of stories together to provide sound basis to prop up their credibility, or to downplay elements of inconsistencies. Sometimes, they provided a recall of their earlier publications to assist the creation of a coherent ‘truth’ of some narratives. The camp, like their opponents, also processed the ‘truth’ test through press statements, pre and post-appearance interviews of witnesses. They run counter stories to punch holes in a perpetrator’s statement. Newspapers belonging to this camp, as an operative mechanism to woo the public into sympathizing with a victim and affirming that version of the story as credible  and ‘truthful’, run horror-clad-pointer headlines such as “PNDC Had Death Squads”, “I’ll Name Brains behind Murder of Judges”,  and “Ghanaians Tell of Torture” to underline the gravity of abuses suffered by victims.

In the end, the only version of truth that came out, according to either camp of the media, were those stories that had been affirmed through editorials, press statements, and counter versions of stories circulated by either media camp. While the pro-NPP media camp, generally, commended the NRC for a job-well done, the pro-NDC media indicated that the whole proceedings were one big exercise in futility. They opined that rather than reconcile the nation, the proceedings had divided the country more than before and asserted that most of the stories peddled before the commissions were, lies, fabrications, and half truths that targeted only one political section of the Ghanaian society. They further promised to campaign for a ‘true’ reconciliation exercise as soon as the NDC assume power 3.

The NRC exercise ended in 2006 and the report was submitted.  Some victims have already received compensations for some of the abuses and violations they suffered. However, whether the ‘truth’ was unraveled and reconciliation achieved is still a bone of contention between the two media camps in Ghana, and large sections of the Ghanaian populace. The media are the architects of this post-NRC state of affairs in Ghana.

1For newspapers, the pro-NPP camp included, Ghanaian Chronicle, The Statesman, Daily Guide, and the Crusading Guide. The Pro-NDC camp included the Ghanaian Democrat, and Palaver.

2See Ameh, R. (2006). Uncovering Truth: Ghana’s National Reconciliation Commission Excavation of Past Human Rights Abuses. Contemporary Justice Review Vol. 9, No. 4, December 2006, pp. 345–368

3The NDC is now in power after they won the general elections held in December 2008.
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14 September 2009

The Media in Africa and Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (Part I)

This is a two-part guest post by Andy Ofori-Birikorang. Andy recently received his PhD from Ohio University.


The media has been at the forefront of the vigorous campaign for the establishment of TRC in several African countries. The media’s role in TRC exercises across the continent  have been robust and vibrant by acting as the vanguard for protection of rights and liberties of individuals in the nation-state, and further as the gauge for assessing the articulation and professing of ‘truth’ as objective fact and reality in the society. The first part of this article, using Ghana’s reconciliation program- National Reconciliation Commission (NRC)- as a case study, discusses the media’s role in ascertaining the revelation of ‘truth’ as the hub upon which national reconciliation could be promoted.


Since South Africa established and submitted its final report on the truth and reconciliation exercise on October 28, 1998, many African countries trying to confront and lay to rest the sordid past of ethnic and political conflicts, and abuse of human rights, have called for the institution of similar reconciliation programs in their countries. It is believed that through revelations by both perpetrators and victims of the mechanics and mechanisms of the egregious acts, an acknowledgement of the level of impunity with which state resources, and in other cases international support, were marshaled to torment citizens, violate and abuse the fundamental rights individuals would not only come to constitute the ‘truth’ but also ‘reconcile’ citizens. It is also believed that a public declaration of the suffering and injustices meted out to victims of abuse would, through an outpour of their grief to an attentive public, help restore their dignity and pride back to them, and at the same time allow the perpetrators to come to terms with their atrocious past.  


Following this perspective, some African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia have engaged the concept of TRC and established reconciliation programs as “effective means of coming to terms with their painful pasts of repressive state policies and the negative legacies of sharp political divisions and deep conflicts.” (Gyimah-Boadi, 2002).  While South Africa achieved huge success with their program, arguments still linger over the success of similar programs toward the promotion of national reconciliation in other African countries. For example, critics of the NRC in Ghana opine that the program left country more polarized than before. Yet many supporters and proponents of the NRC have sung praises to the commission for providing a symbolic arena of catharsis for victims.  


The final report of Liberia’s TRC has been described by some critics as “a recipe for chaos.” The controversial report indicts seven former warlords who are comfortably ensconced in offices as senators or cabinet members. The most damaging part of the report is its indictment of Africa‘s latest leadership jewel and first woman president of the continent, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who has been incriminated as an accomplice, however remotely, of former Liberian President Charles Taylor through various supports she gave  the former warlord during the  years of civil war. Despite the stark revelations before the TRC of the ‘truth’ of horrors and atrocities that border on extreme sadism, the perpetrators, victims, and many Liberian citizens do  not support the implementation of  some aspects of the TRC’s recommendations.  They believe that portions of the document, if implemented, rather than promoting reconciliation and national growth, will spiral Liberia back into an abysm of chaos. Liberians, according to Henry Knaup-a journalist who covered post-conflict life in Liberia, “want to leave past horrors behind -- and usher in the future.” 


Despite some of the controversies that have surrounded the outcome of TRC reports in Ghana and Liberia, many individuals, political groups and organizations including NGOs, political activists and civil society have suggested the institution of similar exercises in countries such as Kenya and Zimbabwe that recently emerged from internal conflict. Proponents for the establishment of the TRC in the  aforementioned  countries assert that it is the only way to engage the legacy of their horrible past, and allow the light of truth to guide them into building a future of hope for their citizenry.  


Long before the calls for the establishment of TRC’s became regular refrain in several regions of the continent, the media in Africa had provided the public with glimpses and insights into some of sordid and horrendous acts of perpetrators. In Ghana, the media, especially the private-independent, had fed the public with how past military regimes had systematically resourced and sponsored agents to intimidate, oppress and, in some cases, eliminate citizens who were deemed opponents of the government. In Liberia and Sierra Leone, some of the reports and revelations made before the Commissions including acts of cannibalism and cases of limb amputations had long been put in the public domain by the media. Many of the stories on violations and abuse had been given copious publicity in newspapers and magazines, beamed on TV screens, and aired on radios to remote locations.  Some reports were presented in graphic details with accompanying photos and, in others cases, video recordings on the commissioning of the crimes.  As the agents who supposedly happened to possess primary evidence of some events that were heard by the TRCs,  the media arrogated to themselves the power to ascertain how and what ‘truth’ was being presented. 


The media contended that withholding of truth or providing half-truths before a Commission by witnesses would defeat the purpose of the TRC. It was their duty to support Commissions to achieve the ultimate goal of uncovering the truth in order to promote reconciliation.  Sometimes, the TRCs found it necessary to ‘run-a-check’ on what constituted a narration of ‘truth’, and in such circumstances the media elected themselves as the system through which the check must be processed.  This assumption of truth-ascertaining power by the media, on several occasions, put them and the commission, including individual personalities on the panels and some witnesses on collision courses. For any revelation by witness to pass the ‘truth’ test, it must conform to the media’s own narrative version, especially, if the media had prior knowledge of the story, and had already put such version in the public domain. When a witness’ version was in consonance with the media’s,  the latter and, presumably, the public will then judge such narrative as ‘truth’ with the potential tendency to generate the desired catharsis on the part of victims and perpetrators, and ultimately, lead to genuine reconciliation. In situations where most of the revelations corroborated the media versions of similar stories, journalists became justified and vindicated on their truth-assertion role for the TRCs. On the other hand narratives that contradicted the media’s version led to confrontations between them and the TRC. The media became the spy-glass through which ‘truth’ could be ascertained and reconciliation forged. The rationale for the authoritative stamp of the media on what constituted ‘truth’ can be traced to how most of the narratives of horror came into public domain. 


First, many journalists were themselves victims of repressive regimes. Some had gone into hiding or exile; others had been incarcerated by regimes.  A few more had been bold enough to plant their stories in renegade media outlets. The stories that unfolded before the commissions echoed their stories and made their earlier circulated versions, simply, the ‘truth’.  Ironically, some journalists were also perpetrators or accomplices of the state machinery for the flagrant abuse and violation of rights.  


Second, even though the media had initially decided to leave the Commissions to perform their independent job of unraveling the truth, journalists were soon drawn into the center of activities as the events of the TRCs unfolded. In some cases, as happened in Ghana, different versions of the same story were provided by witnesses making it difficult for the public to determine which version was the ‘truth’. In such cases, through a reliance on the circulation of their earlier versions of the stories, the media became the most authoritative body to ascertain the ‘truthful’ version.  In other cases, the media pieced the different versions together to create a coherent narrative from which a ‘truthful’ conclusion could be drawn by the public.  


Third, it also became clear that some abuse and violations were instigated by journalists who were on the payroll of government and allowed their editorial opinions to be manipulated for the purpose of persecuting innocent citizens.  The left and centrist media, many of whom suffered under such regimes were concerned that, since truth depends on individuals’ social, cultural, psychological and ideological understanding of events surrounding them, concerted efforts must be made to obstruct powerful authorities from hijacking the processes to present their versions of the truth to the public.  


Fourth, the media believed that cases of multiple versions of stories, peddling of half- truths, and narration of fragments of same events demanded a better evaluator mechanism for the determination of what amounted to a version as ‘truth’. This evaluator mechanism would mean that reports and coverage of stories must be analyzed holistically from cultural, social, ideological, and psychological experiences and perspectives. The media believed that they were the only organ well-equipped to accomplish this exercise.  Clearly, this position led the media to tout their version of ‘truth’ as irrefutable.  Nowhere was this tendency conspicuously displayed than during the coverage of NRC proceedings in Ghana. 
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07 September 2009

Information Technology and Communications for Development: Reflections on the EASSy, SEACOM, and Glo-1 Submarine Projects

by Reuben Dlamini  

The arrival of the 21st century provided Africa with a golden opportunity to join the rest of the world through multi-technology network, but our deficiencies in telecommunications continues to hinder economic growth.  The current projects: EASSy, SEACOM, Glo-1 Submarine cable are bringing hope to the bandwidth-starved continent. These projects are working on laying undersea fiber optic cable linking countries in Africa to the rest of the world especially with the World Cup 2010 around the corner.  They are expected to boost the continent’s sparse and sluggish communications networks and link Africa’s regional groups. With SEACOM leading the way South Africa will be able to meet the bandwidth needs to successful host the soccer tournament. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) accessing high-capacity broadband is a key economic driver. 

The benefits of achieving such a milestone are multi-dimensional: socio-economic development in terms of high capacity connectivity in Africa, reduction of unit costs, eradication of Africa’s dependence on satellites and expansion in Inter-Africa trade. This is a great opportunity for Africa to map out an effective system that utilizes information technology and communications (ICT) to develop and grow its economies. The ICT sector will also benefit from the ease of Internet access and will transform our education systems. ICT offers students, professionals, and practitioners an opportunity to access educational institutions around the globe through e-Learning. I am reminded of a statement by 85 year old Senegalese President Wade who declared “at a time when Europe closes its doors, eLearning is the answer for African students.”

As well, “information and communication technologies (ICTs) are widely recognized as key drivers of private sector investment, employment and social and economic development” (ITU). We need to rapidly and effectively leverage the benefits of ICT, as technology is still an area that needs a massive transformation in order to empower citizens with jobs and allow small medium enterprises (SME) to invest in mobile solutions to cope with the economic downturn in accessing various markets, save time and money. 

In developed nations people are no longer grounded on their desks; they perform their work wherever they are. In South Africa the following technologies are already used by some SMEs: wireless broadband, Wi-Fi hotspots and cellular technologies such as GPRS, 3G and HSDPA. The adoption of such technologies allow some SMEs to cut down on space they are renting, work with fewer resources, and spend time with customers through emails, and websites. Thus, as we pursue sustainable growth, developing the telecommunications infrastructure will provide an unprecedented and unique opportunity to have access to the global markets and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  The increase in broadband greatly promotes economic development as communicating, accessing, and transforming information around the world is becoming increasingly crucial.  The political will is key to accelerate the adoption and implementation of technology. The implementation of broadband enables services and products that were previously unaffordable to become accessible. It grants a greater access to inexpensive bandwidth needed for high-demand services and supporting African economic development and growth. There is a great need to pursue business-oriented projects and come up with policies grounded in reality and the involvement of the business sector instead of heavy reliance on Aid to Africa that is channeled to the government and NGO-driven development projects. The challenges that still face African countries despite decades of Aid funding demonstrate the need to approach development from different lenses: government and the private sector. 

Taking a risk is a fact of business life thus we need entrepreneurial governments especially with the current global financial crisis and corporate meltdowns. The business savvy Africans will take advantage of the technological advancement to reposition themselves and pursue new business models. Governments in developed countries are rolling out broadband networks in their current economic stimulus packages and thus reaffirming the importance of building advanced telecommunication infrastructures. Governments have a task to mobilize resources and forge partnerships as they develop these infrastructures. Even more important is the need for governments to involve African citizens with the technical-know-how when drawing policies. The leaders at the World Summit on the Information Society realized the impact of implementing ICT to help achieve the UN Millennium Goals by 2015.  We have witnessed a remarkable growth in mobile telecommunication in Africa and continue to gain momentum. Building on the mobile technology we can bridge the digital divide and provide affordable and sustainable connectivity to the people living in the rural and remote communities. As all communities become networked, government functions can be managed locally and the “knowledge divide” between those with and without access to information can be bridged. 

Although, achieving such ends will not be a piece of cake, as it requires extensive efforts from the head of state office down to ministries; it is imperative that governments collaborate with both public and private sector in their effort to build technologically networked communities, as it is a catalyst for development and economic growth.   Networked communities can share information and resources, mobile human beings, and access to services. Such advances in technology will give immediate access to information for marginalized groups like people with disabilities, women, and youth. 

For such projects to be successful our governments will have to adopt prudent fiscal policies in investing in telecommunications infrastructure, and strive for proactive organizational policies in line with global best practice. Our governments should commit to sound corporate governance and utilize the technical-know-how at their disposal to drive entrepreneurial and business-oriented projects. They should appoint people with strong leadership and keen knowledge in the telecommunications landscape and local institutions, as we need people who can identify reliable technology that is easy to use and inexpensive. As we invest in telecommunication infrastructures we will also need robust regulatory authority for better rating as an investment destination and establish an access point in every community.  Overall, it is without a doubt that these projects, implemented successfully, could prove to be the biggest step in bridging the digital divide that continues to affect Africa’s socio-economic, political, and cultural advancement. As Marshall McLuhan famously declared “the medium is the message”. 

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