Policymakers, academics, and civil society leaders have issued an urgent call for African governments to pursue deep democratic reforms to ensure economic justice and restore public trust.

They argued that while democracy remains popular across the continent, its failure to deliver tangible economic opportunities has fuelled widespread frustration, particularly among young people who feel marginalised and excluded from development benefits.

The call to action was made on Monday, September 15, 2025, at the University of Ghana, Legon, during the launch of a landmark study titled Analysis of the Nexus Between Democratic Governance and Economic Justice in Africa.

The event, organised by the Open Society Foundations (OSF) in partnership with the IDEAS–Africa Network LBG (IDAN), coincided with the International Day of Democracy.

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Professor Henry Kwesi Prempeh, Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and Chair of the Ghana Constitutional Review Committee, who delivered the keynote address, stated that post-1990s reforms have focused too narrowly on elections while ignoring critical issues of power, accountability, and economic governance.

“Democracy in Africa is not failing because people reject it. Afrobarometer data shows strong support for democracy, even as dissatisfaction with its results grows. The problem is not demand; it is supply. We have yet to build a democracy that truly meets people’s needs,” Professor Prempeh noted.

He criticised the continent’s reliance on imported democratic models from the West instead of developing homegrown systems that reflect African realities.

He identified unregulated campaign financing as a critical flaw, proposing reforms such as capping billboard sizes, setting clear campaign periods, and regulating rallies to reduce exorbitant election costs.

“We cannot imitate countries with stronger administrative capacities. We must design democratic solutions that work for us,” he stressed.

Dr Ndongo Samba Sylla, who presented the research report, described Africa’s democracies as “choiceless,” constrained by neoliberal policies and a lack of economic independence that prevent governments from pursuing transformative development agendas.

This, he explained, perpetuates inequality, unemployment, and youth disillusionment.

Dr Chukwuemeka Eze of Open Society underscored the importance of the report’s findings at a time when young people across the world are demanding a democracy that delivers dignity.

He noted that the Democratic Futures in Africa program of Open Society Foundations aims to build inclusive, socially cohesive, rights-based, and just African democracies rooted in Ubuntu principles, shared humanity.

Panelists, including Dr Liliane Umubyeyi of the African Futures Lab and historian Dr Amzat Boukari-Yabara, detailed how neocolonial structures, such as foreign control over currencies and resources, continue to undermine economic sovereignty.

They called for decentralising power, enhancing citizen participation, and dismantling exploitative economic systems that obstruct inclusive growth.

The study’s bold recommendations include universal access to financial and identification systems, greater control over natural resources, institutionalised citizen engagement in policymaking, and guaranteed access to essential services.

SP/SA

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