By TEE NGUGI

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The elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have concluded. The incumbent Felix Tshisekedi is poised to win a second term in office.

However, many election observers report that the elections were held in an atmosphere of chaos, intimidation and violence. Some polling stations did not get voting materials on time due to logistical problems.

The roads in some parts, including the capital Kinshasa, are nonexistent. In the Eastern Congo, violence between insurgent militia and government forces persisted, making voters in remote areas fearful of venturing out of their homes.

A resident of Kinshasa aptly opined on Aljazeera that while it might not be possible to conduct perfect elections, the just-concluded exercise left a lot to be desired. Several monitoring organisations such as the Carter Centre echoed the sentiments.

Read: OBBO: Tshisekedi dances next to fire in skirt made of dry grass

The question then becomes why an election that was anticipated for years turned so chaotic. The answer is painfully familiar. It characterises our post-independence development project.

Over the years, this column has debated the pitfalls of Africa’s development project.

The pitfalls can be summarised as official negligence and lack of, or inadequate, strategic planning. It is not that these vices are in our DNA. It is because we have left them unattended and unsanctioned for so long that they have become a part of our national culture.

Other countries, even developed ones, experience these kinds of failings. But when they happen, heads roll and those found to have been negligent in their duties face criminal liability.

For example, the chaotic response to Hurricane Katrina during President George W Bush’s administration led to the overhaul of the federal body that coordinates response to disasters. A few years ago in Italy, a bridge collapsed, killing people.

The contractors and engineers were held criminally responsible. When a train accident killed dozens of people in Egypt some years ago, the minister in charge of transportation resigned, as did other officials more directly in the line of responsibility.

And just the other day, former UK prime minister Boris Johnson had to face a government inquiry for minor infractions of Covid policy.

These examples of holding public officials to account serve a twofold purpose. First, justice is served for those harmed by the officials’ negligence. Second, and perhaps more importantly, a culture of zero tolerance for negligence is strengthened in the affected department or ministry.

Read: OBBO: To fix east DRC, take the guns, allow creme of society to rise

Contrariwise, impunity leads to a culture of negligence and incompetence.

For instance, when a drought, predicted years before, leads to starvation, as often happens in Kenya, the well-fed ministers and their minions go on with business as usual. When elections are mismanaged, as they were in the DRC, those in charge will continue holding their offices.

What is worse is that the public has accepted this low standard of performance from our officials. We have nurtured substandard performance in our official culture. To survive, we have to change this culture.

Tee Ngugi is a Nairobi-based political commentator