Conference July 9-12, 2012:

Organized under the Alliance for Rebuilding Governance in Africa initiative, the first edition of Annual Days for Governance in Africa (JAGA) with “Africa reinventing its governance” theme was held in Praia (Cap Vert Republic) from July 9 to July 12, 2012.

The first in a series of four conferences, the Praia conference report on Africa reinventing its governance, is presenting a general synthesis of the five workshops held simultaneously, the issued declaration and the participants list.

Debates did reveal that conference theme and propositions framing workshops were relevant. They did emphasize on the need to use a systemic approach for Africa development topic and the requirement to link actors and themes to governance scales.

The final Declaration is endorsing numerous findings and suggests avenues for the future; also, it is more a true manifesto than a classical declaration.

Main findings are as following:

• 1. «  to take account of governance as being both the source and solution of multifaceted crises, political, social and economic that African continent is experiencing ;

• 2. The need for the continent to get an endogenous, global and sustainable vision for its governance,…

• 3. The need for Africa not only to participate actively to the globalization process, but also to share its leadership,…

• 4. The need for African societies to define, formalize and better promote shared values and principles that should build relationships between individuals and between communities,…

• 5. The need to lean strategically on decentralization processes, to be considered not only as simple administrative reforms, but also like an eminent political project of states rebuilding,…

• 6. The need to strengthen regional integration processes by giving value to the complementarity between institutional and governmental dynamics and social ones…

• 7. The importance of African languages utilization in educative, institutional and administrative systems

• 8. The need to build the vision and the African governance projects with Africa partners».

 Guidelines for effective governance rebuilding in Africa have identified by taking into account current context and trends:

• 1.  Multi-actors partnership should be the driven force for public policies elaboration, implementation and evaluation…

• 2. Education and awareness and citizen values strengthening are the levers to guarantee public interest privilege over particular or groups’ interests…

• 3. States defense and security forces should become republic forces…

• 4. Constitutional processes should be more inclusive…

• 5. Regional integration institutions should continue their efforts to build a vision and a regional integration project that is promoting effective regional citizenry…

• 6. States should give value to national languages utilization, strengthen and deepen decentralization processes in a shared vision with territorial collectivities and all actors

• 7. African Diaspora should participate actively to the task of governance rebuilding in Africa.

During the workshop citizenship concept was passionately discussed. The Latin meaning of citizen is « to have the right of settlement », nowadays it implies mainly state inhabitants’ rights. And moreover it relates the right to participate to the living togetherness collective project construction.

It becomes there necessary:

• « To build » with the basis( and civil society role is here too crucial)

• To take into account spoken languages: it an odd lack of pertinence to organize “the living togetherness” in societies when people do not understand the official language of their own countries! Therefore it is necessary to utilize local or national languages to build with people.

• Educate : education has a crucial role, especially regarding citizenry feeling transmission

• Identify and promote shared values and principles

How to conceive and implement legitimate and efficient governance methods enabling to foster development in an environment where plural standards and institutions are prevailing ?

Workshop N°2 debates enable to identify many strategic objectives:

• Strategic objective 1: contributing to traditional institutions and regulation methods knowledge and recognition especially by investing in interdisciplinary research on traditional institutions and methods of regulation; by studying traditional institutions and regulation methods in our educational systems; by utilizing national languages in educational, administrative and others systems…..

• Strategic objective 2: Using decentralization processes as driving forces for diversity regulation, especially through decentralizing norms making function in a framework of shared principles, also finding complementarities between government methods of conflicts resolution and the traditional ones.

• Strategic objective 3: Finding political power best regulation methods through taking out the best of tradition and modernity , by using African constitutions as useful tools for litigation prevention and resolution; by integrating in African constitutions political conflicts prevention and resolution through non political actors commitment(wise persons committee for example)….

Viewed from its geographical location (in the different sub regions) in the continent or its administrative culture (francophone, portuguese, arabspeaking, english), the African postcolonial state is lacking legitimacy proven by its real struggle to ensure cohesion and stability and people irreducible needs.

Following the debate in the workshop, several proposals have been developed for the construction of the African State (which should be driven by a genuine prospective dynamic and ongoing reflection - with the institution of « think tank » or « ideas’enterprises » - that goes beyond short-term political mandates and goals of maintaining power) can be made from two pillars  : decentralization and regional integration.

Public affairs management in Africa is analyzed in different ways; sometimes it is described as duplicated from colonial model, more often weighted down by community allegiances or entirely being characterized by such opacity.

Public affairs in most African countries are managed by an administrative and political elite who is very often tempted to use it as situation of rent and then excluding the citizen who is however the legitimate beneficiary of public service.

A tailored and inclusive public affairs management in Africa requires taking account of stakes and challenges well identified by participants in the workshop report.

Participants in the workshop 4 offer a number of structural actions while defining the role and responsibilities of the actors

As a major issue, due to crises that are shaking many african countries, the security and sustainable peace issue is today a major governance stake because it is questioning institutional foundations of postcolonial nation-states. Governance rebuilding goes along with the issue of security and peace without which any economic and social development effort is in advance jeopardized.

The reflections and exchanges allowed to : make an inventory of security threats and sources of conflict, to discuss the effectiveness of prevention, management and resolution and their impact on existing field and daily realities  ; to identify trends, developments and strengths  ; to identify issues and challenges, strategic goals change and structuring actions, and finally to identify the different actors and their roles sketch and role in the creation of conditions of security for all and sustainable peace.

The Cap Vert Republic president, Dr. Jorge Carlos de Almeida Fonseca, had a long talk about governance in Africa during the conference opening and he did show how urgent it was to achieve consensual and operational solutions for challenges faced by the continent.

M. Soungalo A. Ouattara, Public Administration, Labor and Social Security Minister of Burkina Faso did challenge the audience on the fact that it is urging to think public action with its economic, political and social dimensions by starting at the local level to regional and national level while leaning on collectives needs. Such vision requires in one hand, taking into account all actors categories expertise and experiences, establishing dialogue between them and the other hand a good linkage between territories levels in public policies conception, planning and implementation.

Mr. Cheikh Abiboulaye Dièye, senegalese minister for territorial development and local collectivities, did underline that “…It was Africans who in the 90s did have the conviction that in West Africa, democracy was not luxury and it worth shedding blood for freedom and social progress ideals. It was Africans who fought for apartheid to be abolished. It is Africans who recently in North Africa did have the courage and engagement to overthrow oppressive regimes..” The Senegalese minister did emphasize that it is Africans who are gathering during the conference to set a new horizon and convinced that Africa can decide for its own destiny.

His Excellency Phillipe Barbry, French ambassador in Cap Vert Republic did stress in his speech on governance rebuilding that “the conference will help to highlight”. He did underline that rebuilding requires from financial partners “cooperation re-shaping”. His speech noted that “time for models transferring has ended and what is adequate is to work together for comprehensive expression of needs, accompany change, suggest “itineraries” and learn lessons from past experiences.”

Mrs Françoise Macé from the Charles Leopold Mayer Foundation for Mankind Progress, ARGA partner since more than 10 years, did underline that the Mediterrean space should be taken as an example. Relations between EU and AU, and African Union and arab countries in general are a main topic. Two Africa-Arab world summits did take place recently. Should the Mediterrean space be considered as a buffer region, a link or a fracture line?

Mr David Keller, Director of the African Innovation Foundation (AIF) has been « highly impressed with the process and the outcomes of this conference. I was personally fascinated by the quality of the debates, the sharpness of the analysis of both the governance challenges and opportunities that the continent faces, and the decisive willingness of all the participants to give the governance agenda in Africa a new direction. »

Following is short presentation of conference participants in an alphabetical order. The five Africa regions and the diaspora were represented, also socio professional groups such as traditional and religious leaders, government, administration, army, universities, researchers, media, grassroots organizations, NGOs, peasants organizations, private sector, student, foundations, international cooperation, international organizations etc.