Atlas Conference, Washington, DC November 2009

1. Atlas Conference, Washington, DCNovember 2009 Towards Stronger States in Africa

2. “To be controlled in our economic pursuits means to be controlled in everything” Friedrich A. Von Hayek “The Road to Serfdom”

3. African Elites are fighting for the Control of the State and its Resources Main Causes for the Preeminence of undemocratic means of acquiring powers • Legacy of Africa’s Colonial History: Arbitrary borders,& states, lack of democratic culture etc… • Excessive foreign interference under the cover of: • Humanitarian relief based on public funding • Political & Economic Interference : domestic policies are conceived far away from Africa (EU, World Bank, IMF) • Military “Cooperation” agreements • Critical role played by the Army: often the single largest organized institution and employer. Offers powerful means of social promotion • Africa’s vast natural resources (state controlled)

4. The Fight for Power Has Led to Chronic Instability and Vulnerability • Of Africa’s 53 countries, 47 have experienced turbulent events as shown below: Table 1: Number of Events (1960-2008) • Francophone Africa is even more severely plagued by instability

5. Africa ranks very poorly on the Failed State Index (FSI): • The FSI ranked 177 states in 2009 from most to least at risk of failure (www.foreignpolicy.com) • It uses 12 indicators of state cohesion and performance • 50% of the 60 states ranked most vulnerable (critical) are African. • Of these 30 African States: • 14 (47%) are Francophone • 9 (30%) are Anglophone • 7 (23%) use other languages • The highest ranked Sub-Saharan African states are Ghana, Botswana, South Africa and Namibia – All in the borderline category and Anglophones

6. 2009 Failed State Map Africa is a “heat map” of failed states.

7. Low Economic Freedom Indicators Scale 1/West Africa Monetary Union: Includes 7 Francophone West African Countries 2/Central Africa Monetary Union: Includes 6 Francophone Central African Countries 80-100 Free 70-79.9 Mostly Free The two Union are members of the Zone Franc 60-69.9 Moderately Free 50-59.9 Mostly unfree 0-49.9 Repressed

8. Most African countries are Economically Repressed • They are most repressed on the indicators which are key for sustainable growth, including: • Business freedom • Investment freedom • Financial freedom • Property rights, and • Freedom from corruption • The Zone Franc countries are relatively more repressed on almost all the indicators.

9. African States are Unable to meet their development challenges • Most African states have weak governments that fail to perform their most basic functions: • Creating the condition for employment generation for their very fast growing population • Providing basic health and education services • Guaranteeing freedom, civil liberties and the rule of law • Ensuring the security of their citizens • Freedom from corruption • Francophone countries seem to be failing more than other countries in Africa

10. The Case of Francophone Africa Africa’s Linguistic Grouping Francophone countries have a disproportionate share of turbulent events Francophone countries represent 37% of African countries

11. The Case of Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa displays even more acute signs of instability Military Coups Civil or Tribal Wars Rebellions and Armed Conflicts • Most common power grabbing technique is the military coup • The frequent occurrence of tribal and civil unrest suggests they are less able to manage ethnic diversity • A direct consequence of French de-colonization approach • This contributed to forging strong ethnic identities after independence

12. Africa: The Reign of the Multi-party Autocratic State • Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, there has been little progress on democracy in Africa • African countries have been stuck in “the transition towards democracy”, but failed to achieve it as a group • Many countries have moved away from the one party to a multi-party state… but without more democracy • There is a great need to promote freedom in Africa to benefit its people • Free market economy • Free civil society • Free enterprise • Rule of Law • Open society

13. Promoting More Freedom in Africa • African countries offer great opportunities for freedom promoters • Francophone countries offer even greater opportunities, because the needs are even more critical • There are not enough Think Tanks dedicated to freedom in these countries (Think Tanks or foundations are not part of French tradition)

14. PROMETHEE: Promoting Ideas to support Africa’s future • “PROMETHEE”: A new Think Tank to promote freedom, the rule of law and market economy • “PROMETHEE” will be an independent voice actively engaged initially in Francophone Africa • “PROMETHEE” will: • Educate taxpayers about the way their money is used • Train freedom activists • Educate people about their responsibility • Promote the need to hold political entrepreneurs accountable • Promote free market philosophy, open society and democracy • Free African people from “captivity” • Celebrate individual freedom