There is a book titled “Why Nations Fail” written by authors Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. In the book, the authors’ observations are that nations fail, not because of geography, culture or ignorance, but because of the existence of extractive political systems which in turn create extractive economic systems. Extractive economic systems are the opposite of inclusive systems, the latter which ensure that nobody is left behind. This week I rather want to look at not why nations fail, but why they can succeed. At the centre of all successful nations is good leadership which articulates, supports, motivates and provides the necessary resources for the achievement of a compelling inclusive national vision. Added to that must be “developmental integrity” which permeates all state or public institutions and the private sector. It is indeed an open secret that many nations, despite being endowed with prodigious natural resources, are failing simply because their leaders’ paradigm is inappropriate and centred not on an inclusive economic agenda, but on retaining political power at all costs. The conditions of life within any society are determined by the thinking of the leadership which develops into a set of beliefs called a mind-set. The mind-set and systems that are created to help that society to sustain themselves economically is called a paradigm. The mind-set is also called psychology. In the case of Rwanda, there is no doubt that we have a leadership paradigm that is most likely to lead to success because it is based on national interests buttressed by a compelling inclusive national vision which is inspiring and is pulling in the necessary, ideas, people and resources to create the necessary energy and momentum towards its achievement. Added to the above are shared values which must be bedrock of any national vision and these provide an ethical compass and guidance on what is important towards the achievement of agreed national developmental objectives. Values identify instil principles and shared values bring citizens together, even during hard times and they define who we are as a people. Integrity, accountability, transparency, fairness and delivery are the cornerstones upon which any nation which seeks to progress must rely. There is then the issue of developmental integrity. Developmental integrity is a term that seeks to capture the essence of how leadership and institutional integrity are critical to any sustainable development agenda. Many developmental problems can be attributed to the failure of leadership and, in particular, to the absence of either ‘ethical leadership’ or ‘integrity in leadership’. There are three closely linked aspects of integrity, these include; The institutions of integrity, individual integrity and the integrity of institutions. Institutions of integrity refer to the institutionalised norms and codes of behaviour (both formal and informal) that ‘bind’ individual behaviour, and shape the context of individual integrity, including that of leaders. Such institutions define the moral boundaries that affect individual behaviour. We then have individual integrity, which relates to the traditional understanding of integrity as honesty; appropriate behaviour (‘doing the right thing’ according to the norms and rules); or, consistency between words and actions and lastly, the integrity of institutions, which means whether an institution functions correctly, is legitimate and is fit for purpose. Developmental integrity is driven by leadership integrity, which is determined by leaders who must: provide appropriate frames for thinking about developmental goals, processes, and programmes; establish necessary coalitions to achieve developmental goals; encourage inclusive stakeholder dialogue and managing conflict and divergent interests; develop successful strategies for balancing institutional requirements, organisational demands and the interests of individual stakeholders; assess the intended and unintended consequences of actions taken in pursuance of collective goals; and assume responsibility for, and undertake corrective action to address strategies that do not promote or undermine collective goals. If we look at Rwanda it is clear that there are clear national objectives of what the country must look like by 2050 and the appropriate institutional architecture is continuously being created in order to support the national vision. The key success factors must include: Meritocracy- it is of utmost importance that those citizens that are appointed in key positions are appointed on merit alone. This will ensure effective and accountable delivery. Honesty- it is critical that corruption is seriously dealt with at all levels with no fear or favour. An economy that is not corrupt will inevitably attract authentic and serious investors who will be in for the long term. Pragmatism- a pragmatic approach must be adopted to ensure that things get done especially when it comes to investment projects both by local and foreign investors. Having said the above inclusive economic development must be non-negotiable and on that score it is prudent that we continually evaluate the social impact of investment projects, be they by local or foreign investors. What must be avoided is creating an elite which dominates the economic space and thereby crowds out the middle class. Economies tend to grow rapidly when they create the economic space for the emergence of a vibrant and prosperous middle class. I remain very positive on the possibilities of Rwanda becoming a very strong economic force in Africa and have no doubt that it will be an African success story as long as it stays on course. Vince Musewe is an economist and you can contact him on vtmusewe@gmail.com
