Experts urge African leaders to prioritise citizens, end reliance on donors

Dar es Salaam. Economists and political analysts are urging African governments to prioritise formulating and implementing policies that directly benefit their citizens.

This call comes amid rising public anger over economic hardship, as exemplified by ongoing protests in Kenya.

The experts have also asked African governments to do away with donor-dependency syndrome; instead, they should prioritise development plans and fulfilling promises made through respective electoral strategies.

The pundits also recommended heightened fiscal discipline, avoiding extravagance, misappropriation, and embezzlement of funds; instead, they should manage public funds prudently.

Political experts and economists made their call on Friday here following the ongoing demonstration in Kenya where citizens have taken to the streets to protest tax hikes, blowing whistles and chanting slogans in a vivid show of anger by Gen-Z protesters against the government.

Led largely by young Kenyans, the demonstrations began in Nairobi on Tuesday before spreading nationwide on Thursday.

In January this year, the main opposition party, Chadema, through its Central Committee, also called for nationwide demonstrations pressing for government measures to ease the high cost of living in Tanzania.

Though the Tanzanian-staged demonstrations cannot be compared to what has been witnessed in Kenya, an alarm has been raised for governments across East Africa and the continent at large to take action against skyrocketing costs of living to end the new wave of demonstrations in the region and the continent at large.

Reached for comments, a political scientist from the University of Dodoma (UDOM), Dr Paul Loisulie, challenged African governments to do away with donor-dependency syndrome and instead leverage local resources for budgetary funding.

He said governments should prioritise development over electoral victories and exercise fiscal discipline to avoid extravagant spending.

"Governments have been prioritising winning public expectations instead of adequately implementing national development plans," he said.

Dr Loisulie was seconded by his University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) counterpart, Dr Richard Mbunda, who highlighted the importance of enacting government policies that will significantly and positively impact ordinary citizens, especially those related to taxation.

"The challenge begins when our leaders enact policies and laws without considering their impact on the common citizens, particularly the imposition of numerous taxes,” he said.

He emphasised the need for leaders to be innovative in decision-making to empower citizens, warning that protests and riots serve as reminders that leaders should serve ordinary citizens.

UDSM's Associate Professor Abel Kinyondo said the demographic challenge facing African countries includes an increased population of unemployed youths amidst staggering tax hikes.

He called on African governments to create favourable conditions for youth entrepreneurship and involvement in small businesses, including access to capital.

Prof Kinyondo said that the youth are facing a bleak future due to the government's failure to create jobs and a conducive environment for self-employment and the enactment of heavy taxation, therefore hindering the youth’s development opportunities.

"The situation in Kenya reminds us of the Arab spring in the Middle East, where youth uprisings became uncontrollable," he said over the phone.

To prevent the riots, Prof Kinyondo suggested that African governments should prioritise youth empowerment in their budget allocations instead of directing country resources into the purchase of luxurious items such as the V8 vehicles.

He advocated for the creation of conducive environments for the prosperity of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, including favourable lending policies to facilitate access to capital.

A political science and public administration lecturer at the State University of Zanzibar (Suza), Prof Ali Makame Ussi, emphasised the need for governments to address the high cost of living and unemployment by leveraging available resources in their respective countries and ensuring equitable distribution.

"Governments should establish systems that enable Tanzanians to invest, start businesses, and pay taxes without undue hardships," he stressed.

For his part, the chief executive officer of the Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development, Dr Donath Olomi, said African governments need to adhere to good governance and avoid corruption during resource allocations.

“We face corruption and mismanagement of public funds that could have been properly used for the development and empowerment of citizens, especially the youth who are grappling with the unemployment challenge,” he said.

He said instead of resorting to heavily taxing their citizens to fund the national budgets, the focus should be broadening the countries’ tax bases.