African Leaders Must Have Skin in the Game

The Code of Hammurabi defined stringent rules for risk management. King Hammurabi ruled Babylon over 4,000 years ago and published over 280 laws; which, as this blog notes, included the first set of construction laws.

229. “If a builder builds a house for a man and does not make its construction firm, and the house which he has built collapses and causes the death of the owner of the house, that builder shall be put to death.”

Such a seemingly harsh consequence to poor construction would invariably lead to an alignment of incentives for both the homeowner and the homebuilder. While the builder might be primarily motivated by the financial reward for delivering the structure, he/she would have to go a step further to ensure the structural integrity of the building, thereby eliminating the risk of an adverse outcome for him/herself and the client. In other words, the builder had skin in the game.

When I examine the quality of the public buildings and public services offered across a number of African countries, I see a glaring mismatch between the incentives of the various stakeholders, especially as it pertains to the role and responsibilities of public servants in the delivery of their duty. Given the ongoing global pandemic, I’ll begin with the health sector.

In 2001, African Heads of State and Government adopted the Abuja Declaration, pledging 15% of annual national expenditure on healthcare. Donor countries that had previously committed to provide 0.7% Gross National Income (GNI) in Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) were also asked to follow-through on their pledges. While countries like Ethiopia have prioritized health, spending at over 15%, others have decreased the percentage of public spending on health over the intervening years. In addition, a number of countries allocate more resources to non-primary care. In spite of this low public investment environment, some countries regularly underspend on healthcare, even within approved budget allocations. The unfortunate result is that health outcomes remain perilously poor across the region.

While this scenario plays out repeatedly across Africa, we also see situations where those entrusted with delivering affordable and adequate health care, are neither required nor willing to ensure the “structural integrity” and resilience of the systems they are responsible for building. Their incentives do not appear aligned with those of the general public, whom they should serve; neither do they face adverse consequences for failing to deliver. Instead, they travel abroad to receive care at leading hospitals and medical centers – a choice most Africans cannot afford – as their primary option, when needed.

If this was subjected to greater scrutiny, their actions would not hold up to Hammurabi’s code. The on-going COVID-19 pandemic now forces many to “face the music,” so to speak, as they are compelled to seek medical treatment at home, since the global lockdown severely limits the prospects for medical tourism. It is time for African leaders to have skin in the game. It is time to radically transform the ways in which Africans are governed. It is time to require transparency, accountability, and most importantly – execution.

Below I discuss four readily implementable suggestions to help align the incentives of public servants and the masses they are empowered to serve.

1. Ensure that budget allocations reflect the national aspiration towards economic transformation. This will require prioritizing (and significantly increasing allocations to) sectors such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure; which underpin other sectors of the economy, and without which, human development is constrained. As the saying goes, the best time to prepare for a crisis was a decade ago, the next best time is now. Investments must be made to provide a healthier and more productive future for all, and not just to prepare for crises. When this is done, it further builds the resilience of countries to withstand such shocks. African countries need to think about investing to become anti-fragile.

2. Fully digitize the government
The simplest and perhaps the most cost-effective means (in the long-term) to increase transparency and good governance is to leverage technology strategically. Technology provides a footprint that cannot be deleted and thereby ensures greater levels of accountability. Moreover, it introduces efficiency, avoids waste, and strengthens the efficacy of government. If budget allocations, disbursements, approvals, and progress in project or program execution were digitized, it would enable better governance and many more projects would be implemented, creating positive externalities for the people and the economy. Moreover, it would make it easier to hold the appropriate leaders accountable for delivering on their mandates. Platforms like BudgIt and TrackaNG in Nigeria are helping the public keep track of government spending and infrastructure project execution. However, it is all the more critical for this type of transparency to be created by the government itself.

3. Emphasize high quality execution
Too many projects and programs remain incomplete or partially implemented for a variety of reasons. If public sector ministries and agencies were structured to reward excellence in execution and completion, it would ensure better alignment between their incentives and those of the public. Those tasked with implementation should be held responsible for failing to deliver, as well as for delivering sub-standard outputs. If variations of the Code of Hammurabi were to be enforced across sectors, we would certainly observe a strong improvement in the quality and in the completeness of execution. Public servants would themselves take pride in their performance – as they are forced to utilize the products and services that they have delivered.

4. Require public servants to “sleep beneath the bridges they have built”
Although there is no verifiable proof that the Romans and Babylonians enforced this, there is a saying that they required bridge builders and their families to sleep under the bridges they built to ascertain their structural integrity. This sounds a lot like a modified version of the Code of Hammurabi – Law 229. Importantly, the fact that Roman and Greek structures that were built hundreds of years ago remain, is testament to their workmanship, structural integrity, resilience, and the attention to detail paid by those who designed and constructed them. Why don’t African countries require public servants to utilize public services? If public servants had to send their children to the schools they supervise, and if they and their loved ones had to use public hospitals, would they not be incentivized to deliver? It is time that they had skin in the game.

We had a very engaging first quarter. Prior to the lockdown in response to the global pandemic, the Visiola Foundation celebrated its sixth anniversary! We are immensely grateful to our donors, sponsors, partners, mentors, volunteers, and staff for their support and hard work throughout the years. We couldn’t have directly impacted over 5,000 girls without their help! Students in our STEM Leadership and Entrepreneurship Program for Girls (STEMLEG) showcased their skills at the closing ceremony to mark the end of the program; which was partly funded by Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation. Some of the students also excelled at national competitions, while Coding Boot Camp graduates secured internships and jobs, and received college admission to pursue various STEM degrees.

It is our delight to share these updates with you.

Warm Regards,

Ladé