Problems and Recommendation in protecting governance in the democratic transformation of Egypt (2013).

The challenges to governance in Egypt are numerous and complex due to the fast moving of events in the country. There is a need to understand a brief background of the current transition government that came into being after the ousting of President Morsi on 3 July 2013. The reasons for the colossal end of the Moslem Brotherhood brief rule of Egypt from 11 February to 3 July 2013 has a baring in trying to understand the current challenges which the transitional government is facing or is likely to face. If the issues that led to the demise of Morsi’s regime are not addressed the same fate will befall any government that will come assume power. This paper will make a genuine effort to trace the current challenges and possibly give recommendations on how governance can be secured in Egypt.

Egypt was ruled by authoritarian power and military control for more than 60 years (Tobbala 2012). Honsia Mubarak had his share of using autocratic power in Egypt since October 1981. In April 1987, Mubarak remarked that “we are providing doses of democracy in proportion to our ability to absorb them. We are forging ahead but we need time for our democracy to fully develop” (Stacher 2001). The slogans during the Spring revolution that saw him being toppled were ‘Bread, Freedom and Social Equality’ (Brown 2013). A close analysis makes it evident that the Egyptian masses especially the youth when they assembled on Tahrir Square during January 2011, there were not happy about three things that Mubarak regime had not provided to their expectations as engraved in the slogan. The people wanted participation in governance, food and equality. According to Tobbala (2012) Egyptian youth identified the root cause of all their problems through lacking their political rights through today’s democratic governance systems. They also realized that the corrupt government is incapable of delivering public services to its people and is a root cause for the lack of equal opportunity. Mubarak small doses of political participation in political fray as he had alluded in his 1987 statement had done little to quench the Egyptians thirst for participation. This mistake was to be repeated by his successor Morsi resulting in him meeting the same fate as Mubarak.

Bread , Freedom and Social equality were the simple demands the Egyptian masses wanted and this was suppose to be the  of foundation of the survival of Morsi’s government. The extent he was going to address these issues was the extent he was going to have a vibrant government. To the disappointment of the masses his short rein was unable to deal with these cross cutting issues instead. According Rachel Ziemba director of emerging economy markets at Roubini Global economics Morsi came to power with a lot of global willingness to help invest but he wasted the opportunity on political opponents with no serious economic game plan (www.americanprogress.org/issues/security//news/2013/07/11/69332/managing - change-in -egypt-after-president -morsis.html ). Morsi had to deal with 13 % unemployment, fuel shortage and an inefficient and expensive food and energy subsidy program which he failed. The downfall of Morsi government will give African Union insights on challenges or problems affecting the democratic transformation.

Democracy without food is a recipe for another Tahir Square coup there is need to address the issue of rising unemployment and escalating of food prices in Egypt. Measures to ensure that poverty is minimised should be put into place. According J Boex the revolution of 2011 was not just against authoritarism but it was an exposure mass frustration with a public sector that was unresponsive to the public service needs of the people, that failed to generate sufficient employment opportunities and economic growth, and that failed to empower people over their public sector. www.tadamun.info/2013/12/05 The- Right- to- local -Democratic -Government /?–i=en. This paper recommends that Egypt be given loans by either AU or other well off African countries to rebuild its damaged infrastructure. During the reign of Mohamed Morsi ,United States and International Monetary Fund had showed commitment to give reconstruction aid to Egypt. This paper argues that such aid from these institutes will undermine any significant development in Egypt. The preconditions of aid from IMF will cut subsidies which are likely to cause another pandora’s box. The devastating effects of IMF prescriptions for Third world countries were precariously devastating. IMF and the US follow neoliberal principles which embody “structural adjustment “policies and “free trade” agreements. (Sniegocki 2008). In Philipines an estimated deaths of 29,000 deaths from malaria and 90,000 in the number of untreated tuberculosis cases were cased IMF cut of preventative medicine. (Brecher 1999). In Zimbabwe, the civil society made the following observations the removal of subsidies and cost recovery in education and health sectors, resulted in swelling numbers of children out of school, people dying of curable diseases (Dhilwayo 2001). It is from this context that relying on Western funds if it goes unabated will create another crisis within this current crisis. Henceforth AU needs to come up with another funding option for development in Egypt since cutting subsidies which people were complaining were not enough will worsen the situation if IMF is left to its vices.

Militarism is another challenge that issue that need to be addressed. The military has been played quite a significant role in removing governments. The military has got power to pursue its desires in Egypt making governance a daunting task. The removal of presidents since 1952 including of Mubarak and Morsi shows the extent the military has power. The forcible overthrow of governments does not provide stability. The military operates like as an independent institution under the sanction of army generals with no respect of the constitution what so ever. When Morsi came into power through elections a constitution was drafted in 2011 by a group that the Military secretly chose (Brown 2013). The military did not make even an effort to protect the constitution or the elected leadership. An military participated in removing a duly elected leader which brings a complicated issue in trying to passify the Moslem Brotherhood who are to question if ballot really work. According to Brown (2013) Islamists have come to feel that even when they win at the ballot box, they will be denied the right to exercise authority. Their opponents, meanwhile, decry “ballotocracy” as mindlessly majoritarian but have shown themselves to be even more ruthlessly majoritarian than the Muslim Brotherhood when they can outmobilize their foes in street demonstrations.

The military role in transformation of democracy has been questionable and counterproductive to democracy. It is disappointing to note that the current democratic transition has been led by the institute that has destroyed it. Brown (2013) observed that the generals who were given a free hand to steer the transition in February 2011 did so in a way that guarded their institutional interests but walled off important parts of Egypt’s authoritarian state from reform. Egyptians lost much hope of obtaining either when they allowed the military to seize control of the transition process in February 2011 and to start making all the rules on its own (ibid).  The current scenario is a repeat of the previous occurrences.  According Giacomo (2013) the army generals have a dictated a conservative pro military interim constitution and set rushed timetable for elections. This report recommends that instead of giving military power to oversee the transition process there is need for civil society to take this role. The military role should be to ensure that it maintains peace and order not to interfere in the political process. It should also desist being partisan. The current clampdown on Muslim Brotherhood by the military makes it difficult for them to be part of the election processes (Press TV 07/04/14) does not guarantee democracy in Egypt to prevail. This brings another problem currently faced by Egypt which is political exclusion.

Political exclusion in Egypt caused the fall Mubarak then Morsi. The remnants of the Mubarak’s authoritarian reign found their way in Morsi;’s administration. It was one thing to remove Mubarak but it was another thing to get rid of authoritarian systems. Islamist majority in the parliament seized the opportunity to draft a self saving constitution which non Islamist refused to be part of. Morsi was eager to impose an Islamic authoritarism (Giacomo 2013) a move that was not tolerated by non Muslim. Article 219 which they Muslim Brotherhood passed in 2012 Constitution sort to impose Sharia law. The Muslim brotherhood pursued a policy of excluding non- Muslim in governance and this created suspicion and disillusionment of Morsi’s governance. After deposing Morsi as mentioned above the military is doing a clamp down of Pro –Morsi supporters, thus unwisely cutting the Moslem brotherhood from participating into the politics of Egypt. Neeta Baporikar and Iqtidar Ali Shah (2012) cite the Arab Spring as being caused by the young generation demand for participation in the country’s governance and resources and allocation processes. A phased approach is needed that engages the participation of the community, civil society organisations, the private sector, the media and religious institutions. Such a holistic reform programme would address all aspects of governance, including the institutional framework (governmental apparatus and administration),and work toward legislation to protect civil liberties and address corruption in government as well as policies and planning that reflect the needs and desires of all sectors of society” (Transparency International 2010).

Democratic and inclusive political systems will remain a mirage in Egypt as long as democratic principles are not fully embraced. According Tobbala (2013) democratic governance is known as a combination of both the values of democracy through a process of governance that involves interaction among actors representing the State, civil society and the private sector. The process of governance is therefore based on universally accepted principles ensuring the balance of power, checks and balances. The principles mainly include: participation, accountability, and transparency, rule of law, separation of powers, access to justice, subsidiarity, equality and freedom of the press. These principles are needed to ensure that democratic governance takes root in Egypt , however  the military has to be rolled back from taking the leading role. Its major function should be to maintain security and peace in Egypt. Civil societies should work hand in glove with government to help in coming up with democratic systems that ensures that citizens has full participation.

Mohammed Morsi failed to notice that the blue print approach to development in Egypt was not sustainable to country that had led a coup against an elitist exclusionary system despite this the 2014 constitution after Morsi  is riddled with a centralized system which is likely to fail Article 181 gives centrally appointed executive authorities the right to interfere with Local Council decisions in specific cases “to prevent the Council from overstepping these limits , or causing  damage to public interest or the interest of Council”( www.tadanun.info/2013/12/05/the -right-to-democratic-government/?lang=en.) A rhetoric question has been who decides the limit or public interests hence the article threaten the independence of local governance. .). This article is reflective of Morsi’s rule whereby Members of the Local Popular Council (LPC) were the only elected members in the local administration but their authority were severely restricted by legislation and their role was largely consultative and the present constitution has done little to change this. There is need to use bottom up or participatory development planning that would see people being the champions of their development. Cleverland and Lubic (1992) stated that “Development is a complex process it cannot be left in the hands of centralized power”. The Cairo Initiative Organisation argues that the local administrations have been very ineffective and furthermore they have been an imposition with no power at all run by incompetent people. (www.tadanun.info/2013/12/05/the-right-to-democratic-government/?lang=en.) The organization has advocated that the Egyptians be given the right to elect representatives to their local governing bodies who are vested with authority to make decisions about public services in their locality without direct oversight and undue interference of the central government (www.tadanun.info/2013/12/05/the -right-to-democratic-government/?lang=en.). This paper advocates decentralization which encourages participatory development in the form of devolution, people can act as an engine for launching the processes of economic transformation, act as a motor for accelerating the process of change and development (Makumbe, 1996 pg 2). Local governance that are close to the people will be able understand people’s problems better and come up with home grown solutions to deal with this. Local governance will give the masses an opportunity to participate in governance. According to Tobbala (2011) decentralization is not an objective in itself but a process to transfer functions, responsibilities and resources from the central authority to local governments. Decentralization’s aim is based on the subsidiary principle bringing decisions closer to the beneficiaries at the most effective level of local government and therefore increasing effectiveness, transparency and curbing corruption. Moreover the local administrations in Egypt has been grossly underfunded is a vital barrier to effectiveness. Only 12% of 2012/13 on the national budget went the administrations compared to 20 to 30 % international average of emerging economies. (www.tadanun.info/2013/12/05/the -right-to-democratic-government/?lang=en.) Hence there is need to give local governance powers and resources to manage their own affairs without too much interference from the central governance.

Civil unrest is another challenge that has been hindering a smooth democratic transformation in Egypt. During writing of this report 23 people in Egypt were reported to have been killed due tribal clashes. (Press TV 7/4/14). Civil unrests have mainly been caused by economic woes as mentioned earlier. Sporadic clashes in the streets have disturbed prospects of a stable and conducive environment needed for economic growth. Civil society has a decisive role in negotiating peace and providing platforms for dialogue.

This report recommends that the AU has to mediate with the current leadership to stop the prosecution of Morsi. The prosecution is likely to cause a division between Muslim brotherhood and Ant-Morsi supporters. A policy of reconciliation should pursued to unite the Egyptians. Currently Morsi and 14 of his Aides are being charged of firing killing civilians during the coup that led to his ousting and acts of terrorism In addition he is charged of escaping prison in 2011 during Mubarak reign and conspiring with Palestine Islamist group Hamas and Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolution Guards. (m.alijazeera.com/se/20131218131959978322). These charges need to be dropped on the interest of unity and development in country. Prosecution of Morsi and the Muslim brotherhood is likely to infuriate them more cut them from contributing positively in development of Egypt.

Zahran observed that one of the challenges that have delayed a smooth transition of democracy has been that there have numerous inexperienced democratic political leaders (www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/01/23what – are – the –challenges- affecting- the-democratic-project).  Most of the leaders are still hanger over of authoritarianism. There is a danger of inexperienced people at the helm of political participation. Since CS organisations are often moved by new circumstances to take on different kinds of activities in order to address newly emerging and changing needs, including monitoring human rights, lobbying political reforms, providing services, etc, the recommended move will be for civil society to do capacity building of politicians.

The last recommendation is that donor funds should be directed towards programs and institutions that support democracy in Egypt. This will ensure that democratic systems are put in place before a rushed election turns into another debacle like Morsi’s government. According Ghanem (2014) donor assistance should be to help achieve inclusive growth and social justice, which are necessary for democratic development. Areas where international community interventions could be particularly useful are: (1) building inclusive economic institutions, (2) supporting small and medium businesses, and (3) fighting rural poverty through agricultural projects and strengthening the social safety net system to protect small and landless farmers.

In conclusion, Egypt is marred with socio-economic and political problems that are making a democratic transaction a daunting task. There is need for AU to intervene swiftly in the delicate situation in Egypt to ameliorate broken relationships and divisions in the country. Donor aid to meet ‘Bread, Freedom and Social Equality’ as dictated by the Spring revolution needs disbursed urgently to restore sanity. CSOs should take an active role in the drafting of elections and uniting people and foster legitimacy of leaders. The army needs to be rolled back in the transition to allow politicians to shape the future. A policy of reconciliation and even a government of National unity is an open option. Capacitating local governments and decentralizing can decongest responsibility leading to effective and inefficient systems that give communities a chance to participate in development.

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