Red Flags Ignored: Governance Values and Practices in Africa

The paper examines the tension between 'positive' and 'negative' governance values in Africa. While the African Union has established comprehensive frameworks like the APRM and ACDEG to promote transparency, accountability, and human rights, the author argues that a lack of political will and moral leadership hinders their implementation. The document highlights persistent issues such as systemic corruption, political clientelism, the marginalisation of women, and electoral manipulation, while noting that a small group of countries has made significant progress toward democratic governance.

• Africa exhibits a dichotomy of governance values; while the African Union (AU) has established normative standards for democratic governance, many states continue to be driven by negative values including corruption, lack of transparency, political clientelism, and election rigging.
• Corruption has a severe economic impact on the continent, estimated to cost over $148 billion annually, which represents approximately 25% of Africa's gross domestic product (GDP). Additionally, the African Development Bank reports that 50% of tax revenue and $30 billion in aid have been lost to corruption.
• Women remain significantly under-represented in African political decision-making, often relegated to 'soft' ministries such as health and education, while being rarely appointed to 'hard' ministries like finance, defence, or justice. In most African countries, women occupy fewer than 20% of ministerial positions.
• Despite a general transition toward multi-party systems, many African states operate as 'hybrid' or 'electoral authoritarian' regimes where elections are manipulated by incumbents to maintain power rather than serving as mechanisms for genuine political change.
• The African Union has developed several key instruments to improve governance, including the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC), and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG). However, the AU faces significant challenges regarding the ratification, domestication, and implementation of these instruments by member states.
• A small number of African countries—specifically Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Ghana, Mauritius, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, and South Africa—have demonstrated superior performance in governance indicators such as accountability, transparency, and the rule of law.
• The author identifies a critical deficit in 'moral leadership' across the continent and suggests that the African Governance Platform should be consolidated to better coordinate the implementation of common normative rules and standards.

APA

Jalata, G. G. (2014). Red Flags Ignored: Governance Values and Practices in Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Occasional-Paper-172.pdf

Chicago

Jalata, Gedion G. Red Flags Ignored: Governance Values and Practices in Africa. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2014. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Occasional-Paper-172.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jalata |first1=Gedion G |title=Red Flags Ignored: Governance Values and Practices in Africa |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=January 2014 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Occasional-Paper-172.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jalata2014red, author = {Jalata, Gedion G}, title = {{Red Flags Ignored: Governance Values and Practices in Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2014}, month = jan, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Occasional-Paper-172.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }