NAIROBI ,Kenya Nov 12 – Kenyan scholars and political leaders have called for stronger institutions, political discipline and accountability in the fight against corruption, saying African countries can draw important lessons from China’s governance model without necessarily adopting its political system.
The call was made during a round-table discussion on China’s governance experience and its relevance to African countries, where participants examined the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) approach to leadership, internal accountability, long-term development planning and people-centred governance.
University of Nairobi Associate Professor Patrick Maluki cautioned African countries against blindly importing China’s governance system, arguing that the country’s political experience was shaped by a different history, state-building process and constitutional framework.
Maluki, who chairs the Foreign Service Academy, said African governments should identify practices that can be adapted to their circumstances while preserving constitutional rights, political pluralism and public participation.
“China’s governance experience is shaped by its own history, state-building process and political context. It cannot simply be transplanted into African countries with different constitutional arrangements, social structures and political settlements,” he said.
He identified organisational discipline, long-term planning, institutional oversight and anti-corruption measures as some of the areas where African countries could learn from China.
Maluki cited the political experiences of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, arguing that neither political continuity nor competition alone guarantees good governance or development.
