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Blacks without certain 'baggage' to cloud their vision..
"Lee argued that Western-style democracy just wasn’t suitable for all nations, and that young countries needed stability and economic development before they could afford the luxuries of democracy and personal liberty.
The model has served as the governance standard for a number of African countries, particularly Paul Kagame of Rwanda and the late Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, who was succeeded by Hailemariam Desalegn in 2012 and has continued the policy direction.
Rwanda seeks “Singapore of Africa” status
Kagame in particular, has said he wants to turn Rwanda into the ‘Singapore of Africa’, hoping to emulate Lee’s example in attracting foreign investment. Under Kagame’s tough-as-nails leadership, Rwanda has made huge gains in discarding red tape, fighting corruption and strengthening institutions; the country regularly gets glowing reviews in doing business in Africa rankings.
Like Lee’s focus on making Singapore, a small, rugged country with no arable land or natural resources into a global shipping, trade and finance powerhouse, Kagame is looking to do the same with information technology in Rwanda.
The Lee Model has made waves elsewhere too, especially on its strong focus on getting technocrats to do the job of governance in order to supress the politicking which tends to capture civil service.
Kenya’s 2010 constitution partly draws from this thinking, by requiring that cabinet ministers are not members of parliament and do not hold any elective political office – a radical departure from the past where the president appointed his cabinet from the ranks of MPs."
"Lee argued that Western-style democracy just wasn’t suitable for all nations, and that young countries needed stability and economic development before they could afford the luxuries of democracy and personal liberty.
The model has served as the governance standard for a number of African countries, particularly Paul Kagame of Rwanda and the late Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, who was succeeded by Hailemariam Desalegn in 2012 and has continued the policy direction.
Rwanda seeks “Singapore of Africa” status
Kagame in particular, has said he wants to turn Rwanda into the ‘Singapore of Africa’, hoping to emulate Lee’s example in attracting foreign investment. Under Kagame’s tough-as-nails leadership, Rwanda has made huge gains in discarding red tape, fighting corruption and strengthening institutions; the country regularly gets glowing reviews in doing business in Africa rankings.
Like Lee’s focus on making Singapore, a small, rugged country with no arable land or natural resources into a global shipping, trade and finance powerhouse, Kagame is looking to do the same with information technology in Rwanda.
The Lee Model has made waves elsewhere too, especially on its strong focus on getting technocrats to do the job of governance in order to supress the politicking which tends to capture civil service.
Kenya’s 2010 constitution partly draws from this thinking, by requiring that cabinet ministers are not members of parliament and do not hold any elective political office – a radical departure from the past where the president appointed his cabinet from the ranks of MPs."
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