From: gpope@iat.holonet.net (george pope)
Subject: Constitutions, Somalia, Ghana
Organization: HoloNet National Internet Access BBS: 510-704-1058/modem
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 21:49:16 GMT

A New Constitution For Somalia, Ghana's Example   (12/28/92) 

It is surprising to me (of course I might have missed it) that 
nobody on USENET, soc.culture.african, List-Africa etc . has 
suggested that Boutros Boutros-Gali follow the precedent of the 
Japan - MacArthur constitution drafted on the collapse of its 
government at the end of the second great war (General Douglas 
MacArthur Commander US Forces Far East 1941-51). Now the stage is 
nearly set for Mr. Butros-Gali for Somalia. Following the Ghana 
model have the Somalis create and put into law a new Somali 
constitution. Keep a sufficient UN force on hand to make sure 
that it gets off to a good start. This seems a lot better than 
foreign powers trying to pick a war lord as head of state. Often 
that kind of thing gets everybody into trouble.  

Such undertakings are not without precident in Africa. Last 
summer Mr. Jerry Rawlings and the people of Ghana did it.  
Representatives of every walk of life farmers, nurses, 
accountants, professional persons of all types, market women, 
chiefs, and of course lawyers were invited to participate as a 
constitutional advisory committee. After a lot of debate a 
practical document was hammered together, explained to the 
country and adopted by national referendum. 

It may or may not contain flaws requiring possible future 
amendments. It might have carried more weight had it been the 
work a fully empowered constitutional convention. Mr. Rawlings 
and some members of the then ruling Peoples National Defense 
Council (PNDC) were said to have been anxious to retain clauses 
pardoning government for very serious excesses following the 1981 
coup de etat, his second. 

On the whole however due to a feeling of national participation 
deriving from drawing the good people of Ghana together the new 
Constitution seems to have earned a solid plus for the Rawlings 
administration. 

Here I wish to put a question particularly to African readers on 
USNET and elsewhere: Is this last valid? No doubt earlier 
constitutions were written with more or less equal skill? Have 
Africans simply gone through too many coup constitutions 
participation not with standing? After all a constitution is 
either a scrap of paper or it is a thing for which citizens will 
defend with their lives if need be because with its loss as their 
own well being is in jeopardy. 

Adoption of the constitution was followed last month by a 
presidential election. The PNDC made liberal use of government 
resources in promoting Mr. Rawlings while materially hindering 
opposition party candidates. As every body knows last month Mr. 
Rawlings was voted in as president. International observers did 
report the election free and fair. 

The half dozen opposition parties seem to me to also deserve a 
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fair share of rebuke for their prima dona approaches an election 
the importance of which probably transcended the boundaries of a 
single country. It seems that each party leader demurred from 
difficult decisions complacently awaiting a some kind of "call" 
to presidential-chieftaincy. Non seemed aware of the importance 
of programmatically sorting themselves out (eg, spelling out 
positions on either command or market economic mechanisms) and 
finally uniting behind a leader in order to prove not only 
democratic change but also to advance the workability of 
government in Africa where government failures are a primary 
hindrance to African political and economic development. 
 
The debate goes something like this: 

  1. Coups de'Etats: Progress can not come to African countries 
until endemic coup-corruption-coup cycles are ended. As law 
breaking is fundamental to all coups, coups always tend to 
exacerbate holes in the fabric of society. 

  2. Benevolent Dictatorships: African countries are so 
internally divided and subdivided regionally, linguistically, 
tribally, and even by clans that some think that a dictatorship 
form of government is more likely to be viable at least in the 
short term. 

One can understand this with reservations. Sometimes simply 
finding food and surviving until tomorrow is challenge enough for 
many African citizens. Of course when people are distracted to 
desperation by hunger they may be more amenable to rash and 
foolish promises. 

Thus it is thought that a system of rotating dictators that have 
either been elected or appointed may provide modicums of growth 
while keeping individuals, tribes, or regions from becoming "too 
powerful". 

  3. Rascals: Good intentions not with standing dictators usually 
lose their "benevolence" due to systemic absence of 
accountability. 

  4. Accountability: Can only be realized where people retain the 
power to throw rascals out.  

  5. Multi Party Politics: is recommended especially by 
Westerners as a cure all for coup problems. Some of my Africans 
friends point out that this is unlikely to work due to 
complications of region and tribe. However one study in Ghana 
last year showed that despite barrages of propaganda proclaiming 
the merits of stability deriving from single party rule a 
substantial majority of Ghanaians actually wanted multi party 
politics. After all ours is the era of both communications and 
peristroika. 

What statesman like action might Mr. Rawlings now undertake in 
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order to earn an honored place in African history? I would hope 
that he run his administration as a sort of presidential arms 
length devils advocate referee to the loyal opposition. By free 
invitation he might help bring diverse leaders into as many un-
impeded public meetings as needed, participate with them in wide 
open public debate. The up coming parliamentary elections seem 
the place to start or rather continue creditable constitutional 
undertakings. 

Contrary to impressions of perpetual African catastrophe imparted 
by big time western or at least American media her peoples have a 
lot to build upon compared for example to the Balkans and Middle 
East where ethnic cleansing became a tradition even before the 
expulsion of the Jews from the Holy Land. 

I have been impressed as well as personally touched by African 
hospitality which of course is where a lot of Southern American 
hospitality comes from. The speculation that it derives in some 
part from traditional universal African land tenure law seem 
reasonable to me. Both stranger and foreigner can go to any chief 
and ask for land to farm and it will be granted. He and his heirs 
my hold it in perpetuity providing simply that they continue 
operating the farm. He may learn the local language, marry a 
local girl and otherwise fully enter into the live of the 
village. 

We Americans seem to think that we invented the melting pot. 
However Africa seems to me to be a truly ancient live and let 
live place where generally no one is asked to forget where he or 
she comes from. How else explain the fabulous multiplicity of 
languages. 

George Pope, 2280 Bunker Hill Dr. San Mateo, Ca 94402
415 674 2799, gpope@holonet.net 

Post Script (12/30/92)

From Accra yesterday the BBC reported a very low turnout for the 
parliamentary elections held two days ago due a boycott by 
opposition parties alleging election irregularities.