Abstract

This article examines the colonial and post colonial state and development in Africa; it does so by trying to answer the following questions: what is the nature of the African state and when did impunity become the norm? Who is the colonial and post-colonial state accountable to and how does this impact the welfare of the majority of the people? How can the state be reconstituted in the interests of the Africans? By development, I mean a process that places the majority of the people at the center of all decisions. Development involves control over the economy, satisfaction of basic needs: food, health, security and shelter. Development is also based on the culture and history of the majority of the people. Human beings rather than institutions are the core of development. Africa is not homogeneous; issues of class, gender, race and cultural differences inform this discussion.It is important to highlight the colonial state and its impact on indigenous institutions as well as the well-being of Africans. Such emphasis should not be misunderstood as self-pity or "blame" or nostalgia for "a golden past." It is simply done here to draw attention to the fact that what started with colonialism is an ongoing process in spite of political independence. I argue that it is only when the colonial state is restructured based on the culture and history of the majority of the people as well as their needs that the culture of impunity, poverty and moral decay will end in African countries. Only then will development occur.