Governance expert, Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has expressed the need for Africa to have a rethink of its democratic practices.
According to the Professor who insists there are two sides of democracy, he says the practice, unlike the principle, is a problem in the country.
The former senior advisor on governance to the United Nations notes that the practice of democracy in Africa has no cultural, traditional and historical links to the continent, making it difficult to serve the interest of its people.
Despite admitting that democracy has its positive sides, the Professor said until the practice reflects the culture and traditional links of the African people, what happened in Ghana will not be a nine day wonder.
“If you take democracy, certainly, certain aspects of the way Africans practice democracy are not working for us and therefore, there is a need to rethink democratic practice in Africa. Not that Africa doesn’t deserve democracy. There are two sides as I always insist, –the practice democracy and the principle democracy.
“The practice is a problem because we may have adopted certain practices that are western, have no historical links to African societies, no traditional links, no cultural links and yet we go on practicing these as if we invented these practices,” he stated.
Several people were killed and hundreds injured as thousands of demonstrators stormed Kenya’s parliament to protest a controversial tax bill on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds.
At least three of the dead were shot as protesters overwhelmed police as they entered and set fire to parts of the parliament buildings.
Addressing the nation, Kenyan President William Ruto called the storming of parliament promised to prevent it from happening again “at whatever cost.”
The protests forced lawmakers to flee the legislature where earlier they had debated and passed the unpopular bill.
The bill included new taxes on items such as bread, vegetable oil, sugar, and manufactured goods, including sanitary towels and diapers. The government says the taxes are necessary to fund development programs and reduce the country’s public debt.
