Describe the institution of the presidency in African governments

The institution of the presidency has resulted to what political scientists have called
neo patrimonial rule in Africa. Neo patrimonial rule refers to a type of governance,
which Max Weber developed for small and traditional polities. This is a sort of
administration where the electorate and social economic organizations are seen as an
appendage of the estate of the ruler.
The state is the household of the big man. Hence authority is personalized and unshaped by the
ruler’s preference rather than any codified system of laws. In neo patrimonial system, the
president dominates the state apparatus and is above the law. The president uses the state for
systematic patronage and clientele practices in order to maintain political order (Michael
Bratton and Nicolas Van de Wale 1997:62). Neo patromonialism no longer has a place in
African political process in the 21 st century. The third liberation movement that is overthrowing authoritarian regimes in North Africa in the second decade of the 21 st century could mark the end of neo-patromonialism in Africa. The presidents of Egypt and Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak and have been forced to step down in early 2011 to allow for regime change. Africa’s strongman Gaddafi the president of Libya who has ruled for 42 years is facing revolutionary movements which demand that he hands over power to a new regime. The people in North Africa are
demanding for a democratic system of government where the presidency operates within the
stipulations of the constitution.
Presidentialism is the systematic concentration of political powers in the hands of the chief
executives. Presidentialism has weakened political institutions and eroded democracy.
Presidentialism is well captured by former president of Malawi Mr. Kamuzu Banda who observed:
“Nothing is not my business in this country, everything is my business, everything. The state of the economy, the state of our agriculture, the state of our transport, everything is my
business”(Ibid: 63) These aspects of the presidency have changed as a result of multi-party states that re-emerged in Africa in the 1990s. Political pluralism has led to reforms in the constitution such that incumbent presidents compete for their executive jobs with leaders from opposition political parties. The only advantage they have over the opposition is that they contest while still in office and so utilize the civil service, police and state financial resources to have an edge of their rivals.

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Titany answered the question on October 28, 2021 at 12:29