What's Different About An African Government?

This is was a quite interesting piece I got and found worth sharing, is this the definition  of an African Government? Its quite a harsh definition of an African Government but damn....

Government as it is known in the West does not exist in much of Africa.Leaving aside the democratic requirement that a government must be by the people and for the people, one expects at a minimum a ‘government’ to be responsive to the needs of the people, or at least, to perform some services for its people. But even this most basic requirement for ‘government’ is lacking in Africa.

‘Government’ as an entity is totally divorced from the people, perceived by those running it as a vehicle not to serve but to fleece the people.Dishonesty, thievery, and peculation pervade the public sector. Public servants embezzle state funds; high-ranking ministers are on the take. The chief bandit is the head of state himself.

In Africa, government officials do not serve the people. The African state has been reduced to a mafia-like bazaar, where anyone with an official designation can pillage at will. In effect, it is a ‘state’ that has been hijacked by gangsters, crooks, and scoundrels. They have seized and monopolized both political and economic power to advance their own selfish and criminal interests, not to develop their economies.

Their overarching obsession is to amass personal wealth, gaudily displayed in flashy automobiles, fabulous mansions and a bevy of fawning women. Helping the poor, promoting economic growth or improving the standard of living of their people is anathema to the ruling elites.‘Food for the people!’ ‘People’s power!’ ‘Houses for the masses!’ are simply empty slogans that are designed to fool the people and the international community.

Dr. George Ayittey, economist, author, professor at American University, associate scholar at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and president of the Free Africa Foundation in Washington DC.
Source: The Africa They Never Show YOu