From BusinessDayLive, Story by Charles Stitch, Stith, former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania during President Bill Clinton’s second term.
Longstanding president and Angolan liberation leader José Eduardo dos Santos announced on March 11 that he would be stepping down at the end of his current presidential term.
This date could well become etched in history for Angola and Africa. Dos Santos’s decision to step down continues a notable trend on the continent — more and more African leaders are choosing to hand over power rather than hanging onto power by any means necessary.
By the time he retires, Dos Santos will have been in office almost 40 years.
I say better late than never. Whatever the time frame, it is an example worthy emulating by the likes of Joseph Kabila, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda; and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, president of Uganda. If Dos Santos is willing to give up the accoutrement and trappings of power, then who shouldn’t?
That he is choosing to step aside is good for Africa and Angola for a number of reasons. It is good for Africa because history has shown that peaceful transitions are the best guarantor of stability and prosperity. Angola is Africa’s second-largest oil exporter after Nigeria, the prospect of long-term stability in Angola is good for the region and the continent. With Angola’s transition to democracy the whole southern region of Africa would be anchored by truly democratic states. Likewise, it furthers the trend toward democratisation on the continent’s west coast as well.
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