15. Good Governance and the Prospect of Sustainable Growth and Development in Africa

This chapter reviews the crisis of governance in Africa, noting the preponderance of weak public institution as a catalyst for the pervasive underemployment in the continent. Personalization of state power coupled with ravaging poverty and unemployment have bolstered regression in the development of the African states. The chapter notes the high rate of corruption and the dangers of constant Illicit Financial Flow (IFF) as albatross in Africa. In most African states, institutional failures endanger accountability. The chapter notes the importance of virile civil society, as in other developed democracies, to assert vertical accountability in the face of the failure of horizontal accountability. It concludes that African citizens should brace up for sustained public challenge against poor governance and demand accountability with a view to inducing inclusive development and growth.