HISTORY NOTES FORM FOUR

HISTORY NOTES FORM FOUR

TOPIC 3

CHANGES IN POLITICAL SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC POLICIES IN AFRICA AFTER INDEPENDENCE

Changes in political, Ideological and Administrative systems.

Key terms

Ideology refers to the body of beliefs or principles belonging to an individual or group which guides political and economic system in a given nation for example socialist and capitalist ideology

Factors for the change of political and economic ideology after independence

These factors can be divided into two means internal and external factors

Internal factors

• Promotion of unity and solidarity among the Africans, the changes of political party from multiparty to single party system aimed at promoting unity and solidarity among the Africans since they were dominated by single ideology for example in K.A.N.U in Kenya, C.C.M. in Tanzania and U.P.C. in Uganda.
• Avoidance of political opposition from other parties, soon after independence most

External factors

• The role of USSR, the socialist bloc played a big role to the changes of political ideology and administrative system in most of the African states. Since many African countries adopted Marxist ideology that based on socialist ideology resulted to the formation of single party system. For example the leader of socialist bloc encouraged the formation of workers party.
• Support from socialist states, many African states that adopted socialism after independence received moral and material support from socialist states like China and Russia.
• Bad perception towards capitalist ideology, many of the independent African states viewed capitalism as mode of production that is based on exploitation of the resources and masses thus they decided to adopt socialism as it was discouraging exploitation

The Changes which Took Place after Independence

Political and administrative system took place in Africa after independence

Most African independent states undergo changes in the political and administrative system through adoption of the following government system

1. One or single party system, the post independence Africans allowed one political party and avoided competing politics. The party in power dominated the government and controlled the state apparatus and other spheres of human activities outside politics. But in 1990's one party system began to collapse especially after the fall of USSR

. Reasons for the Introduction of Single Party System

• Unity; single party system promotes unity among the people. Many parties disunited people and even brought conflicts among the people based on religion, region or ethnic considerations.
• The rise of new ideologies; many African countries adapted socialism after independence. Socialistic ideology favored centralization of administrative power in the hands of single party.
• It was introduced to eliminate political parties that showed interest to protect colonialism during the struggles for independence e.g. U.T.P in Tanganyika allied with British leaders feared that such parties would overthrow the government of newly independent nation.
• Traditions were similar to African traditional culture where Africans were ruled by one king or chief.
• Greedy for power among few African leaders who wanted to rule for many years without being taken out of the post by political party.
• Promote development of all people; people’s effort be concentrated in development rather than in politics.
• Promote equitable development in the country as all people all over the country belong to the same party.

The Features of Education in Africa after Independence

• Expansion of secondary and higher education, e.g. by 1966 enrollment in higher education in East Africa had increased almost three times.
• Training of local staffs, the African independent focused on training the local staffs to replace the European expatriates as they were supposed to leave the African continent free governing themselves.
• Provision of academic education, since during the colonialism Africans were usually provided with vocational training due to existence of racial discrimination following this African independent state made great efforts to acquire academic education
• Expansion of primary education, independent African countries expanded primary education under Universal Primary Education (UPE) program, whereby the government adopted this and soon shifted emphasis from provision of high level skills to basic education. For example in Tanzania the government took various measures to expand primary schools especially from 1973 to 1977.
• Provision of free education, many independent African nations provided free education to all school age children who are supposed to be enrolled in primary education. Thus the education was made free of charges as there was no payment of school fees and it was compulsory to all school aged children. This was practiced for the aim of enabling access to education for all Africans.
• Revision of curriculum, after independence the curriculum was revised so as to ensure its relevance to the learners. For example in Tanzania there was emphasis on the history of Tanzania, elimination of selection process. Not only that but also teachers training and establishment of new classrooms.
• Introduction of education for self reliance, after independence schools were advised to put emphasis on useful values such as equality, honest responsibility, cooperation and community involvement rather than focusing on academics only. A good example for this is Tanzania under socialist ideology.
• Curriculum integration, the African schools were asked to integrate work into the curriculum as results students/children could appreciate the value of the manual work.
• Emphasis on adult education, since after independence there were a large number of illiterate adults so the education institutions with the support of government emphasized on adult education.

University education was emphasized, given that there were fewer than one hundred Tanzanians with University degrees by 1960. After independence in 1961 University of Dar es salaam was started with a view to achieving self- sufficiency in line with the policy of socialism. In 1963, the University of Dar es salaam, Makerere University College of Nairobi were merged to form university of East Africa.

Achievements of housing distribution after independence

After independence the government succeeded on the following;

• Reduction of inequalities in the income between the highest and the lowest income earners through provision of reasonable houses by local authorities in different countries.
• Decentralization of development for the promotion of development in other parts of the country. For example in Tanzania decentralization was made when Dodoma became the new capital city of Tanzania.
• Owning of homes in urban centers by the majority through sites and service schemes in Kenya and Tanzania.
• Provision of employment opportunities for Africans through establishment of new housing schemes. For example they provided plumbing, carpentry, electrical installation and other important services to the residents.
• Provision of new investment opportunities to many people due to expansion of the housing markets. For example the investment was made through establishment of high class hotels, tourism centers, commodities modernization, airports and importation of luxury commodities for the benefits of tourists from western countries.

ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL MILITARY AND LEGAL INSTITUTIONS

The Social, Political and Economic Problems Hindering Development in Africa after Independence

Social problems

• Illiteracy, Africans experiencing illiteracy since some people are unable to read or write, this is attributed by some of the cultural traditions of the people and sometimes failure of government to provide conducive environment for schooling. For example failure to provide enough educational facilities like school infrastructures for the communities has made it difficult for some children to access schooling.
• Poor living conditions, most of the Africans are poor following this the parents are unable to provide uniforms and other school materials to facilitate the education of their children. Poverty also led some student to drop out from school in order to work and provide to their siblings and parents.
• Diseases, African countries since independence have been experiencing diseases both cured and uncured resulted by environmental pollution, poor sanitation and poor hygiene, careless in eating habits, poverty and ignorance. Examples of the serious disease that affect African people include malaria, dysentery, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Following this most people loose lives unnecessarily especially in the rural areas where health centers are few.
• Religious differences some African country experienced serious religious differences that led to religious wars and country division. For example in Nigeria and Sudan some of the Islamic groups have advocated for the introduction of sharia or Islamic law in some parts of the country while Christian and African traditional religions therefore this intensified conflict in such countries.
• Fear and insecurity, some African people are forced to flee from their homes and rendered refugees due to several factors including electoral disputes, land and water resources conflicts. Since these people flee from one African country to another within the continent this led to highest number of refugees in African continent than other continent, For example in eastern Africa there are millions of refugees from Burundi, DRC Congo, Sudan and Somalia, living in refugees camps in neighboring countries.

Political problems

• Tribalism in Africa attributed by different factors some of them include language differences and colonial policy of divide and rule this contributed to political animosity and civil wars. For example in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Ivory Coast and Uganda there are serious political divisions, civil wars, displacement of people and death due to tribalism.
• Regionalism in some African countries some parts of the regions have experienced faster development than other areas hence disunity. For example in Sudan some parts of southern experiences great poverty while northern parts is more developed, following this there has been a very serious civil war that was that was fought from the 1980's to 2011.
• Single party system of ruling, most of African countries until 1990's were characterized with single party rule following this many there was problem of corruption, authoritarian and lack of democracy. However in 1990's many African countries such as Kenya, Zambia and Mali struggled for multiparty government.
• Political instabilities caused by disputes over electoral outcomes, land resources and sharing of government positions. This has hampered political unity to many African countries and resulted to lack of economic progress, loss of life and properties and displacement of people.
• Abortive coup attempt and overthrow of governments due to several challenges within the country including economy mismanagement, sectionalism, corruption, nepotism, violation of human rights and tribalism for example in Nigeria the coups against the prime minister Abubakar Tawafa Balewa while in Uganda Idd Amin overthrew the government of Militon Obote in 1971.
• Neo-colonialism resulted to ideological differences among the political leaders and political disunity which hampered unity between African countries. For example in Democratic Republic of Congo, several political readers were unhappy because Patrice Lumumba the prime minister adopted socialism and in Kenya the president Jomo Kenyatta adopted capitalism while his vice president supported socialism.

Economic problems

• Poverty is experienced in African countries due to the failure of governments to allocate resources equitably and to provide development infrastructures such as schools, roads, electricity as well as economic exploitation of certain regions of the country.
• Mismanagement of public resources for one’s benefits or for the benefits of one’s friends or associates for personal gain or favors for example land have been grabbed by corrupt government officials and civil servants thus undermining the economy. This problem has been prevalent in Nigeria, Kenya and Burundi where a high level of corruption has been reported for many years.

The Steps Taken to Solve Problems Hindering Development in Africa after Independence

• Introduction of multiparty, most African countries decided to introduce more than one political party so as to provide an opportunity for citizens to compete in the political arena since this contribute in making the government more accountable as the oppositions operate as a watchdog.
• Constitution revision most African countries have been revised their constitution to limit the term of the leaders to a maximum period usually two terms. Also political candidates are now required to show proof of a good educational background in order to eliminate possibility of having inept leaders.
• Strengthening of democracy through African Union by allowing innervations in case of evidence of violence and abuse of human rights in member countries, this prevents political instabilities in countries and pre-empts refugee problems in the continents. Affirmative action has been accepted in order to uplift women I leadership. For example Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda have made great progress in this sphere.
• Establishment of regional organizations contributing to the stability of African states by improving social and economic welfare of the citizens and expanding commerce, transport and communications infrastructures.
• Introduction of modern information systems such as internet and cell phones helped in boosting economies of Africa by cutting down on unnecessary labour and by ensuring watertight security of money and goods in both government offices and private companies. Use of cell phones also facilitates quicker and more financial transactions.
• Partnership with developed countries through privatization of public corporations for the aim of promoting development especially in productive areas such as minerals and oils prospecting
• HIV/AIDS campaigns in order to inform citizens on ways of protecting themselves and on how to assist infected people
• Establishment of social security fund aimed at protecting retirees and those retrenched from work due to ill health from experiencing serious financial problems.
• Establishment of revenue collecting bodies like Tanzania Revenue Authority, Uganda Revenue Authority and Kenya Revenue Authority in order to strengthen economy and avoiding economic dependency on foreign countries

Success and Failures of the Steps Taken to Solve Problems Hindering Development in Africa

Failure of the measures taken to resolve African political independence problems

• The influence of external powers in African politics example in 2011 the USA and NATO powers attacked the forces of Muammar Gaddafi in spite of pressure from the African Union to allow more time for dialog among the rebels and government forces.
• Corruption
• Diseases
• Refugees

Successes of the measures taken to solve problems hindering development in Africa

• Multi party system has promoted democracy and government accountabilities as well as helped to reduce abuse of powers and corruption among African political leaders within the continent.
• Respect and adhering constitutional requirements especially in political issues like elections
• Promotion of gender mainstreaming programs in order to allow women and girls to advance politically, economically and socially since now day women are no longer sidelined in political activities in Africa. For example Liberia is led by President Ellen Johnson-Sir leaf, a lady while Tanzania’s speaker of the parliament is also a woman honorable Anne Makinda.
• Regional economic organizations contributing to political achievements in African countries through ECOWAS, SADC and EAC for example, African Union has played an important role in enhancing political stability by condemning electoral irregularities and condemning military takeovers in the continent as well as has participated in peace keeping operation in Darfur and Somalia since 2009.
• Improvement of social arena through saving retirees and those retrenched from work due to ill health from experiencing serious financial problems. For example in Kenya the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) have both played a key role in uplifting the life the poorer members of the society. Similar program have also been instituted in Uganda and Tanzania.
• Improvement of education system through adoption of different educational policy like Universal Primary Education (UPE), Education for All (EFA), Primary and Secondary development programs (SEDP & PEDP) all of these aim to fight illiteracy in the society.
• Enhancement of economic stability and reducing dependency on foreign donor through establishment of revenue collection bodies; For example Tanzania Revenue Authority, Uganda Revenue Authority and Kenya Revenue Authority.
• African states stability through setting up of regional organizations for example Uganda is the most important trading partner of Kenya.

SAMPLE QUESTION

1. Show the economic and political roots of central African Federation and highlight the main oppositions which retarded the federation

2. Account for the state of political instability and coup d’état in many African countries since the attainment of independence

3. Why was it necessary for African countries to change the political ideological and administrative system after gaining independence?

4. Colonial and neo-colonialism were both exploitative systems being experienced in Africa. To what extent did colonialism pave way to neo-colonialism

5. With concrete examples from Tanzania assess the factors that made independent Africans states change their social, political and economic outlook a few years after independence.

6. “Political changes which have been taking place in African state since the second half of the 1980’s are a result inevitable internal and external circumstances” Discuss

7. Analyze six problems facing African countries that originated from their colonial heritage

8. Elaborate six causes of political instability in Africa

9. “Political changes which have been taking place in Africa states since 1970’s are results of inevitable internal and external circumstances.” By using six points discuss this statement.

10. Examine the strengths and weaknesses of Education in Africa after independence. (Give eight points, four each)

11. Why has the dream of a united Africa not been achieved? (Give eight points)