The legislatures in Africa: A trajectory of weakness

Abstract

The paper examined the historical underpinnings of the under-development of representative institutions in Africa.
The author noted that notwithstanding its worldwide prevalence, the legislature had been involved in struggles for
political power and relevance across political systems. Specifically, he viewed the African parliaments as products of
specific historical experiences, notably of colonialism and militarism, that not only stultified their growth and
development but also left legacies that continued to constrain their capacity to serve as effective checks on the evergrowing powers of the executive arms of post-independence governments. Accordingly, the legislatures of Africa had
not been placed in vantage positions akin to those of their counterparts in the advanced democracies, and their
capacities as effective agents of limited government were seriously constrained. In the circumstances, the workings
and challenges of representative institutions in Africa had to be understood within the context of the historical forces
that shaped and continued to shape their emergence and contemporary relevance. It identified people-centred
constitutional re-engineering, more proactive posture on the part of legislators themselves and capacity-building
supports as the irreducible minimum for strengthening the legislatures and creating responsive and citizens-friendly
environments for sustainable democracy and good governance in Africa.