Increasingly in Africa, the syndrome of power longevity tends to spread. From Togo to Cameroon and Congo Brazzaville, dragging on and dying in power is becoming the norm. While their populations grow, in countries where leaders cling to power for intermittent mandates, corruption becomes a systemic evil.
Instead of working for the development and welfare of citizens, these regimes turn into survival machines, where every day spent in power is a desperate attempt to protect the leader and his family from the many enemies they have.
When heads of state extend their reign beyond democratic change, as we see in many African countries, a vicious cycle sets in. These lifelong regimes, indicated by the 3rd, 4th, or even the 5th mandates, have harmful consequences for the institutions and social fabric of the State.
One of the most visible results of these long dictatorships is the impossible fight against corruption, which is turning into a cancer that is gnawing at all levels of society.
In fact, when a president remains in power for decades, his regime surrounds itself with people whose loyalty is no longer based on the principles of good governance, but on the need to protect their own power and the power of the leader .
In exchange for this, these individuals are offered complete freedom to plunder the country’s resources, misuse public funds and set a climate of widespread punishment.
This punishment increases more and more as the president, in his attempt to survive, becomes a hostage to this plundering minority that helped him stay in power. He can then no longer undertake real reforms, or fight against corruption, without risking finding himself facing an army of enemies, not only politically, but also within his political family, even biological.
In these regimes, any attempt to restore order, any good governance initiative is immediately seen as an existential threat by those who benefit from the reigning anarchy.
Therefore, if the leader tries to implement reforms to fight corruption or strengthen the rule of law, he is quickly removed, often by a coup d’état or by a successor chosen from among those who want the chaos continued. Therefore, long presidencies only fuel a system where corrupt practices become the norm, are anchored in daily life and are passed on even if there is change.
Over time, the lack of change in the head of state entrenches corruption in all areas: economic, judicial, military and social institutions are undermined by an attempt to survive rather than focus on their mission of public service.
The state itself becomes a tool that serves those in power to protect themselves from the enemies they have created throughout their rule.
Ultimately, these countries become states without a future, where corruption, impunity and poor governance condemn development. The real breakthrough for these nations lies not only in the change, but also in establishing permanent mechanisms that ensure responsibility, transparency and the primacy of the nation’s interests over a few private interests.
However, in a system where the future always seems to be directed to the past, the hope for structural changes remains weak or even impossible.
Long reigns are never conducive to the fight against corruption, because they ultimately establish the latter. As long as priority is given to the protection of regimes rather than the development of nations, hopes for a better future will remain utopian.
For these countries, the break must begin with governance that puts the general interest above survival calculations.
François Bangane
Source: alternative.info
