Accountability, Transparency, and Freedom of Expression in Africa

This 30-page article, published in the Social Research journal by Article 19, looks at changes that have taken place in Africa around freedom of expression, particularly press freedom and free speech, but argues that there remains much unfinished business and many unfulfilled promises. These include stalled legal reform, limited media pluralism, and a lack of political will to move from the rhetoric of transparency to its reality.

The article is based on a study conducted by Article 19 that reviewed the last 20 years' transformation in the fields of freedom of expression, the press, and access to information. Although changes found were dramatic, particularly around legal reform and technological development, the study also found that since 2001 freedom of expression has been weakened and eroded in both emerging and older democracies. This article explores this trend and its implications in Africa.

Over the last two or three years, two key factors have contributed to a worsening of the landscape for both freedom of expression and accountability in Africa. The first is the global human rights setback resulting from the economic and banking crises in many countries across the globe, the "war on terror" and its security agenda, and the emergence of a multipolar world with human rights-unfriendly actors such as China exercising an increasingly crucial influence.

The second factor has been the number of elections across Africa. The widespread manipulation of the competitive electoral processes has both required and resulted in the curtailment of dissenting voices and independent media reporting. According to the article, both journalists and civil society were at the centre and the forefront of the repression required to flaw elections results.

The report states that the overall absence of independent, transparent, and credible regulation of the media is a specific concern: it highlights the unwillingness of African governments and others holding some forms of political power to let go of their control over mass media. It also seriously hampers the development of the media and its watchdog function. This function has been the most difficult to achieve in Africa because of direct repression, political manipulation and ownership, and/or self-censorship.

Another major obstacle to stronger state accountability is the fact that the reforms required to establish and entrench a transparent regime have barely been initiated. Only six countries have adopted access to public information laws and secrecy remains the modus operandi of governments and corporations across the continent.

The report concludes that the challenges ahead to ensure stronger state accountability in Africa remain multiple and complicated, particularly as the global context is not conducive to progressive reforms and is unlikely to generate many demands or incentives for stronger accountability. Now more than ever, civil society activists, the media, and other actors will have to rely on their courage, determination, professionalism, and dynamism to keep watching the powerful, seeking to hold them to account, and also drive the much needed reforms process.

Author: Anges Callamard