African leaders must stop blaming the West for their failures, says analyst

African leaders need to stop using colonialism and the West to avoid accountability for problems in their own countries.

That's the view of Phapano Phasha, chairperson of the Centre for Alternative Political and Economic Thought (CAPET), whose latest IOL article is titled 'Why African leaders must stop blaming the West for their own failures'.

Speaking to CapeTalk's Clarence Ford about the piece, Phasha said Africa's history matters, but so do the choices its leaders make today.

“Will there ever come a point where Africa has agency?” she asked.

Phasha said citizens across the continent wanted change and accountability from the people they elected to govern them.

“It's important that we hold our leaders accountable. I do not believe that African leaders are unique. African leaders are voted into power by their citizens, and they are given custodianship to lead.”

Phasha said the reality is institutional failure on the continent.

"And no one is holding our leaders accountable," she said.