African Democracy and Development in 2008

“Ultimately, the path of political and economic freedom presents the surest route to progress in sub-Saharan Africa, where most wars are conflicts over material resources…”

G.W. Bush (2002)

Africa. What can be done to attend to this continent's chronic political and humanitarian crises? It is taken as gospel that the root cause of the decay, instability, and humanitarian disasters which characterise Sub-Saharan Africa is a Western-educated elite who pervert democratic norms. However, much blame can be attributed to Western democracies, and to the former colonial powers - countries which systematically stripped Africa of its resources and natural wealth, then deserted it. Only our better-off Western powers can now heal Africa.

Due to the constant instability of the region, foreign companies are hesitant to invest in Africa. This lack of investment and unpredictability has created communities of high unemployment. African countries rely on an aid system which puts countries into debt. They are unable to set-out their own stall and be self-sufficient. Therefore, the majority of Africa's people live in poverty.

This lack of wealth has effectively turned Africa into a white-collar fraud free-for-all - where political cliques and ethnic groups are engaged in a constant dogfight for ownership and control of a finite stock of resources. So Africa is locked into a destructive cycle of unemployment, civil war and debt.

In addition, since colonial times, Africa's economic and social status has been fully concerned with the business of primary industry -- agriculture, oil and minerals. As a result of this monism, Africa now has a problem adapting to foster an environment fit for the money-producing service industries. Consequently, it is unable to compete in the global economy.

Though unique cases in their own right, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea and the Sudan, exhibit typical characteristics of an African state.

In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni has been in office since 1986, when restrictions on multi-party elections were imposed.

The first multi-party election in 25 years happened in February 2006 and Museveni was declared the winner. However, despite a technically democratic election, the opposition parties had endured harassment by the incumbents.

Museveni's government has been accused of corruption, embezzling public funds and charging opposition leader Kiiza Besigye with treason, rape and terrorism. His supporters say these charges were politically motivated.

Uganda does not and cannot suppress democracy by itself. For example, a South African-based subsidiary of British defence company BAE Systems supplies the armoured vehicles which are routinely used to quell opposition protests.

It is this type of support the Western world must stop. One cannot denounce a regime with the right hand, and supply it with military hardware with the left. The short-term profit of Western companies must be forsaken for the long-term prospects of fully functioning and legitimate African markets.

Since its independence in 1968, Equatorial Guinea has only been ruled by two men - and they are from the same family. The current president of Equatorial Guinea is Teodoro Obiang Nguema. Nguema attended a military academy in Spain and his assent to the leadership of Equatorial Guinea has something of the aura of Greek tragedy. He overthrew and executed his uncle.

Country officials say Nguema won more than 97% of the vote in the country's most-recent presidential elections, in December 2002.

The majority of the £370 million revenue the country generates is confiscated by the president, whilst most of Equatorial Guinea's 500,000 subjects subsist on less than a dollar a day.

Diplomats and ministers have been caught smuggling drugs using diplomatic bags and even the president's baggage.

Teodorin Nguema Obiang, 35, the eldest son of the President, is the favourite to succeed his father. In August 2006, the ageing dictator sacked his 50-man cabinet but reinstated Teodorin as minister of forestry. While Teodorin is his father's favourite, the Western oil companies favour Gabriel, his younger brother.

Two-thirds of Equatoguinean oil is bought and sold by American oil companies, which should make the country's activities a key concern of the United States government.

But Teodorin, a graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, doesn't have a care in the world. Two years ago, a South African legal battle shed light into Teodorin's wealth and extravagance. He has homes in Los Angeles, Buenos Aires and Paris, and once descended on Cape Town spending £1M on two Bentleys, which sat in their garages unused. He has an on-off relationship with the Grammy Award-winning singer Eve. The couple met when Teodorin hired the 303-foot yacht Tatoosh which belongs to Paul Allen, the Microsoft billionaire.

Sudan has been the victim of an almost continuous civil war since 1956. In June 1989, President Omar al-Bashir led a military coup and gained control of the country.