How National Institutions Provide Leadership

National Institutions in Governance

Introduction

National institutions play a vital role in governance. They represent the culture, values, aims and objectives of the nation; they represent its history and seek to shape its future. Whether they are museums, political organizations, religious bodies, sports, or arts, national institutes sum up the strength and vision of a nation, and they can serve to unite diverse people in times of crises of leadership. While accountability is essential to governance, it is sometimes missing when leadership fails to act appropriately (UN, 2020). It is for that reason that national institutes serve as a safeguard against temporary failures of government; they bolster the public, inspire people, and stabilize the character of a nation even when it is faced with destabilizing forces from within and without. This paper looks at the role of national institutions at the global level, then at the African level, and finally within Zimbabwe to show why they are vital in governance.

Globally

When it comes to global governance, no institution plays a larger role than the United Nations (UN). It has been front and center of global change and progress for decades, and it has served as the stage upon which the various nations of the world work out disagreements and set the course of human affairs. The UN represents in a macro way what is often seen in individual nations of diverse populations: an institution celebrating principles and ideals that the community values highly and helping all people to base their actions and lives on these ideals.

In some cases, it means putting forward policies that promote peace, in other cases it means putting forward policies that promote security, and in other cases it means advancing policies that aim to eliminate disparities (Global Challenges Foundation, 2020). Whether it is a college or health care institute in the US, a central bank in Europe, the Institutes of Technology in India, or the Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Africa, they all have one thing in common: focus on the care and advancement of the human population.

Africa

In Africa, the role of national institutions in governance indicates mixed results, with same cases showing a positive correlation between national institutions and economic growth or prosperity and other cases showing no correlation at all (Michalopoulos & Papaioannou, 2014). What this suggests is that national institutions alone, by themselves, cannot account for positive influences across all regions in Africa. However, in some regions, where they support and in turn find support from government and the public, the harmony and alignment of interests, values and principles leads to greater and more effective governance overall.

Today, there are many institutions that aim to provide governance and assist in the provision of governance. The Network of African National Human Rights Institutions, for instance, includes 46 members across all Africa, working jointly to help bring about important changes in individual states to promote human rights. For example, the Network worked with the Commission for Human Rights and Good Governance in Tanzania to provide training to Human Rights Defenders in Tanzania (NANHRI, 2021). The Network also supported the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria to help develop a plan to decriminalize petty offences in the Lagos States and in Oyo (NANHRI, 2021).

However, Africa as a whole, has a history of its national institutions being corrupted by political elites who use them to reward friends and supporters by putting these same people into positions of power and influence (Chikara, 2020). That system of cronyism prevents national institutions from achieving the type of good governance that they should be able to achieve were the politics of the various nations not so clouded by corruption. Yet, with new administrations comes the hope that new steps can be taken to shore up good governance, and that appears to be the hope currently in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe, there are many national institutions devoted to research within various departments and organizations, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization, and Irrigation Development with the following objective: “To promote and sustain a viable agricultural sector and to develop and manage land resources through the provision of appropriate technical, administrative and advisory services in order to optimize and to contribute to equitable and sustainable social and economic development in Zimbabwe” (Directory of Institutions of Affiliation, 2016, p. 10). There is the Ministry of Health and Child Care, the National Institute for Health Research, the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe, and many more. All of them contribute to the governance of the nation in different ways.

However, governance is more than just a collection of agencies and institutions: good governance depends upon the fact that the characteristics of that governance must be good and balanced. This means that collectively speaking the various institutions should bring diverse perspectives and multiple viewpoints, should promote accountability and knowledge, and should have a strategic vision. It is the vision, above all, that helps the institution to play a vital role in governance, because without a vision of where the culture, people and nation as a whole should be heading there will be no direction or course of action to follow.

Thus, for example, in Zimbabwe, the National Democratic Institute plays a vital role in working to make sure elections are fair and credible. Under the Mugabe administration, it was widely believed that democratic elections were often fraudulent, and this created a great deal of tension in the country. For forty years, Mugabe had held power in Zimbabwe, and with his removal in 2017 by military force, a new era was suddenly possible in the country. But how would that era be shaped? The National Democratic Institute came into Zimbabwe for the purpose of helping the people of Zimbabwe to maintain their democratic powers after years of abuse from government leaders (NDI, 2021). The National Democratic Institute had actually been at work in Zimbabwe since 1998, and had focused on helping to create policy papers, providing assistance to political and civic leaders, drafting legislation, and monitoring elections (NDI, 2021). All of this contributed to the good governance of the country but primarily because the Institute had a vision for how elections should be carried out.

Still, in Zimbabwe, there is the problem of cronyism and political corruption that persists in spite of the good efforts of some institutions. One recent issue in Zambia is an example of poor governance that serves as a lesson for Zimbabwe. For instance, Chikara (2020) points out that President Edgar Lungu dismissed the governor of the Bank of Zambia, Denny Kalyalya, and replaced him with a personal friend, Christopher Mvunga. This type of cronyism made Chikara (2020) reflect on the vital role of national institutions: they “can provide the necessary checks and balances” in Zimbabwe that are oftentimes missing. If these checks and balances were sufficiently in place in Zimbabwe, it would be more difficult for government officials to implement poor governance when what they should be doing is working with institutions to create solid governance. But this is not really the case, at least not enough, in Zimbabwe or in Zambia. That is why South Africa’s Minister of Finance delivered harsh words for Lungu in the wake of Kalyalya’s firing (Chikara, 2020). Chikara (2020) thus states that “nearly every national institution in Zimbabwe, among them the National Railways of Zimbabwe, the Cold Storage Company, Air Zimbabwe, the National Oil Company and the Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company, have deep scars inflicted through political interference which resulted in them failing to perform their functions.” The point is that in order for national institutions to be able to play a vital role in governance, they need a degree of independence and autonomy that will make them free from political interference and manipulation.

In Zimbabwe it is important for national institutions to have their own character and representation so that when the political winds of change blow they are not torn down and destroyed in the process. One major problem currently facing the administration of Zimbabwe, however, is a deeply cultural one: mediocrity has been normalized and the state’s institutions no longer aim to pursue perfection or even a higher standard, even when it comes to something as simple (but also as important) as the maintenance of major roads and highways (Chikara, 2020).