Our president Bio made an iconic visit to the Connaught
hospital and gave many other such unannounced visits to key public offices
soon after being elected president in March of 2018. His new government took a bold move when it passed a bill authorising a commission of inquiry on the conduct of the past government, thereby putting itself in greater scrutiny of the watching public and future governments (since what goes around surely comes around). He is the recent of African
leaders taking visible action to wake up public institutions and drive accountability.
In Tanzania, Magifuli’s actions have been marked by a commitment to curb corruption
and drastically cut public spending[1].
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has also orchestrated great moves towards transforming
Rwanda; among other things, he’s especially known for his gender-balanced
cabinet[2][3].
The Ghanaian president is another iconic leader in Africa who has been driving
efforts towards an…‘Africa beyond aid’. These moves and actions show a greater number of African leaders angry about the state of their countries. These individual actions hold much greater promise for transforming the state of African countries when they become institutionalized.
Institutions are the foundation of any country. Indeed, there are stark institutional differences between the developed world and underperforming countries. Institutions are the incentive system of a society. They
provide a framework that determines how people will and should behave. This
means, institutions are just about formal rules and regulations (should behave) as they are about the
informal customs and ways of doing things (will
behave). Indeed, informal rules and social customs of behaviour and action
are often stronger compared to formal rules.
Institutional change from within has often been very
difficult and slow to come about. This is often because, changing institutions
requires changing a society’s incentive system. The people who are in a
position to refuse change are often those benefitting from the system’s poor
performance, undermining efforts towards change. These people hold great power,
and institutional change appears synonymous to taking power away from them. Institutional
change is difficult because a dynamic process of change happens through time
and current institutions are a product of the past. The beliefs and attitudes
people have are a function of the experiences they have had and these
experiences vary with different cultures and environments. With this view we see that every society has its own unique set of challenges and opportunities that
are formed through time by the cultural and environmental experiences of the
people making up that society. This also means that changes that may have worked
in one context may have to be thoroughly adapted to fit other socio-economic
contexts.
Ideas for transforming institutions.
First, we need enlightened leaders who are
motivated to transform the lives of their people. This is where it starts; we
need leaders who are out –in –the – field’s role models showing the way forward
through their actions. The enlightened leader is willing to set politics aside
and get both hands and feet dirty in making the lives of the people better.
In this regard, getting the justice system right is first
and foremost. A rule of law must prevail – there is no substitute for a justice
system that assures fairness and equality. Even if nothing else changes,
getting the institutional processes and leadership of the justice system in
line with the needs of a better nation will tackle most institutional
challenges we face. Fighting corruption and holding public (as well as private
and non-governmental) actors to account is a necessary step in the right
direction.
A free press is also necessary. This is one of those areas
in which I think we have made significant strides as a country. While there’s a
lot of room for improvement, the fact that Sierra Leoneans engage in national
discourse through television, radios, Ataya bases, and social media platforms
every day, means the daily Sierra Leonean, even if indirectly, has the chance
to guide national outcomes. By putting our leaders and their conduct in the
public’s eye also serves as a factor in making sure elected members or
otherwise are careful about their actions and take their responsibilities
seriously.
An interesting idea for accelerating institutional change is
the creation (or political and financial support for the creation) of new
institutions and hubs that are out of the reach of main government. Silicon
Valley in the USA and such other tech hubs budding in different parts of the
continent such as Kenya and Ghana are great examples of this. In all these, the
most the government might have done is to lay the necessary policy foundation
and give political support to encourage the birth of such hubs and communities
that end up accelerating institutional change. For instance, decisions made in
Silicon Valley affect and shape institutional trends and daily life in the USA
and in fact throughout the globe. While change in current government
institutions is necessary and imperative, to increase the speed of progress
requires new institutions of innovation and growth that can seize new
opportunities to accelerate change.
In the end, strong institutions are necessary to
transforming any nation. Institutions are important because they are the
incentive system of a society and they give the framework through which change
happens. It is wonderful to see our president joining other African leaders
going out there and taking proactive action to revive institutional
accountability and responsibility.
