Bottom-up poverty plan for Africa needed

With China offering less democratic options for development, it is no longer politically incorrect to ask whether democracy really suits Africa.

The situations in Kenya and Nigeria both show the challenges where growth takes place but most citizens are excluded.

This need not be Africa’s path, though. This year is the key moment to renew the right kind of G8 and G20 support for citizen-led development.

John Githongo is an anti-corruption campaigner and head of the Zinduko Trust and Twaweza in Kenya. Jamie Drummond is executive director of ONE, a global advocacy organisation campaigning for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, especially in Africa. This article first appeared in the Globe and Mail of Toronto on January 28