African Studies
Utafiti: Journal of African Perspectives
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The deteriorating security situation and the upcoming legislative elections in early 2023 dominated domestic politics. President Patrice Talon met with two of his predecessors to discuss issues of national relevance. On the diplomatic front, bilateral and multilateral exchanges between Benin and various countries marked the year. Beninese authorities continually made working visits, received visitors, and took part in international meetings. On the socioeconomic front, the year was characterised by the high cost of living. The launch of the second phase of the Alafia microcredit scheme was an important event. Partnership with France was sought in order to increase tax revenues but was also important in other areas, including the return and exhibiting of art looted or purchased during colonial times.
Two military coups threw Burkinabé domestic politics and foreign policy into a tailspin during the year. As a military junta attempted to exert political control over the country, insecurity primarily as a result of a growing militant Islamist insurgency overtook the countryside, hitting civilian communities in the north and east particularly hard. Some 2 m citizens had been displaced from their homes by the end of the year because of the conflict. Regional mediators stepped in to re-establish elected civilian rule, winning public commitments from the leaders of both coups, but with military rule also came speculation that external autocratic influence might supplant ties with Western governments. The worsening security, humanitarian, and socioeconomic situation of Burkina Faso underscored its already precarious and uncertain position, leaving a grim outlook for 2023.
When Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva (Mudança para a Democracia, MpD) reshuffled his executive in October, he did not significantly reduce the number of government members as demanded by the opposition to reduce public spending in times of crisis. The government approved several credits for the ailing national airline Transportes Aéreos de Cabo Verde (tacv) to safeguard its existence until its scheduled future reprivatisation. The important tourism sector further recovered from the decline suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic. Steadily increasing numbers of foreign visitors resulted in rising tourist-related tax revenue.
Despite growing concerns over the spread of regional jihadist violence and slow progress on reconciliation and electoral reform, the political year in Côte d’Ivoire was generally characterised by an atmosphere of normalisation and dialogue after years of post-conflict recovery, with potential new coalitions emerging and long-standing prominent political figures consolidating the political reshuffling that began in the wake of the 2020 presidential elections. The country’s socioeconomic performance was also encouraging, considering the global financial downturn due mainly to the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with slight improvements in a range of key indicators and a rebound in the vital cocoa production sector. In addition to ongoing structural reforms, public spending was marked by the preparations for the African Cup of Nations football championships, with large-scale infrastructure construction across the country.
With fading memories of the Jammeh administration, Gambians have been reconciling themselves to evolving realities. The parliamentary elections of 2022 attest to the evolution of a new dispensation which has replaced the old order with new political actors. While the populace anxiously looked forward to the implementation of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (trrc) recommendations, society remained characteristically calm despite occasional cross-border incursions perpetrated by the armed secessionist movement in southern Senegal. After taking his second oath of office, President Adama Barrow seemed to be getting accustomed to the business of governance. Notwithstanding the Freedom House Human Rights Report, there were still cries of alleged unprecedented unwholesome financial practices in high places. The ripple effects of the conflict in Ukraine on the price of essential commodities was being grappled with, coupled with the waning effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ghana marked the thirtieth anniversary of the promulgation of the 1992 Constitution in 2022. Nevertheless, there were few celebrations of the occasion, because successive civilian governments since 1993 have not followed the constitution’s letter and spirit in managing the national economy. At the beginning of the year, Ghana faced one of its worst economic crises. The country had to deal with the consequences of several years of macroeconomic indiscipline characterised by massive borrowing and huge public expenditures on vanity projects. Despite experts’ warnings and the signs that the country was headed for trouble, the government was still preaching self-reliance, saying that Ghana did not need an imf programme to restructure the economy. In January, the public debt stood at 351,800 bn cedi (gh¢); this had increased to gh¢ 575,700 bn by the end of the year. In addition to the external shocks, poor policy choices, mismanagement, corruption, and leadership paralysis compounded the already precarious situation. Ghana’s addiction to Eurobonds was forcefully ended when all international credit rating agencies declared the country bankrupt and not creditworthy. Several human rights violations were recorded, and the destruction of the environment through unauthorised mining attracted greater public attention. Indeed, the country’s experiences in 2022 can be likened to those of 1982 and 1983.
Guinea faced enormous political uncertainties associated with a contested transition of political power and the resultant impact on governance reforms, financial performance, private investments, and spending on social programmes. Attempts to reconcile the nation after the overthrow of President Alpha Condé and the effort to set aside ecowas sanctions took a prominent role in local politics. The year witnessed cabinet reshuffles, a drop in the Freedom House rankings, and stagnation in the Corruption Perceptions Index. The economy recorded 4.7% growth while inflation stood at 12.1%, a slight decline compared with 2021. The fiscal deficit improved by 1.8%, while tax revenues remained low. Human rights were under attack, with widespread arbitrary arrests and detentions, mistreatment of detainees, and denial of fair trial.
The year was marked by a gun attack on President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his cabinet on 1 February, followed by the deployment of an ecowas peace force. Embaló’s rule continued to be characterised by authoritarian tendencies and intimidations, targeting not only the media but also political competitors. Embaló’s dissolution of parliament in May must be seen against this background; elections were finally scheduled for June 2023. Reports suggested the continuation of dubious business activities, such as narco-trafficking and illegal logging, in which individuals close to the ruling elite were involved. Despite this questionable record, Embaló was able to gain international recognition owing to the assumption of the ecowas presidency in July as well as prestigious official visits. Although Guinea-Bissau benefited from economic normalisation after the global Covid-19 pandemic, rising food and energy prices as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine simultaneously hit the country’s impoverished population.
Political developments in Liberia saw a realignment of parties and factions as the country prepared for general and presidential elections in October 2023. In-fighting in the opposition Collaborating Political Parties (cpp) led to the withdrawal of the All Liberian Party (alp) and the Unity Party (up). The ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (cdc) similarly experienced in-fighting, but its constituent parties remained in the coalition and endorsed President George Weah as its candidate for the 2023 election. The fight among the parties had little impact on the economy ,which suffered increases in the prices of basic commodities mainly as a result of the Russia–Ukraine conflict. However, the economy grew by 4.8% during the year. Two new progressive legal reforms took place with the granting of prosecutorial powers to the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission (lacc) and the adoption of dual citizenship to allow Liberians obtain citizenship of other countries without losing their Liberian nationality. Finally, Liberia conducted its second post-war census after the exercise had been delayed by nearly five years.
The year 2022 in Mali saw concerted efforts by the country’s ruling military junta to assert state sovereignty at home and to realign relations abroad amid increasing insecurity and violence by jihadi insurgents in many regions of the country. The junta resisted pressure to adhere to Western norms regarding human rights and democratic governance, most notably by opposing calls for a speedy transition to an elected civilian government and by opposing foreign scrutiny of its human rights record. A fundamental shift away from France and towards Russia characterised the country’s foreign policy. The imposition of international sanctions against Mali proved counterproductive, generating strong domestic support for the junta despite the economic hardships they caused.