A Look at Governance Throughout Africa
This chapter defines governance and explores how good governance is integral to realizing the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda 2063 aspirations. It then examines the various governance structures establ
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A Look at Governance Throughout Africa
Abstract This chapter defines governance and explores how good governance is integral to realizing the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union Agenda 2063 aspirations. It then examines the various governance structures established within Africa in order to provide an overview of the frameworks that inform governance within the continent, as well as the specific challenges that need to be overcome to ensure good governance. An analysis of the current governance levels in Africa is presented through an examination of the African Peer Review Mechanism’s African Governance Report and the Ibrahim Index of African Governance study and critical areas requiring improvements are identified.
1.1 Introduction Development is impossible in the absence of true democracy, respect for human rights, peace and good governance1 New Partnership for Africa’s Development
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) forecasts that by 2050, more than 2 billion babies will be born in Africa. Similarly, the Word Economic Forum estimates that by 2055 there will be approximately 1.5 billion Africans aged between 15 and 64 years.2 The growth rate of this age group is known as Africa’s demographic dividend and yields an opportunity for economic development. The UN estimates that by 2050, Africa will account for more than one quarter of the world’s projected working age population. Moreover, it is estimated that the
1 African
Peer Review Mechanism, Strategic Plan 2016–2020, South Africa, 2016.
2 J. McKenna, Six numbers that prove the future is African, World Economic Forum, May 2017, www.
weforum.org/agenda/2017/05/africa-is-rising-and-here-are-the-numbers-to-prove-it/, accessed: 8 February 2020. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 A. Froehlich et al., Space Supporting Africa, Studies in Space Policy 28, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52260-5_1
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1 A Look at Governance Throughout Africa
African economy will exhibit a growth rate double that of the developed world.3 Good governance throughout Africa is paramount to realizing the socio-economic opportunities afforded by its human capital. In the 2008 Compendium of Basic UN Terminology (UNTERM) the definition for “governance” is: The exercise of political, economic and administrative authority in the management of a country’s affairs at all levels. Governance is a neutral concept referring to the complex mechanisms, processes, relationships and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their rights and obligations and mediate their differences.4
Similarly, the definition of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights states: Governance is the process whereby public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights. Good governance accomplishes this in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption, and with due regar
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