The Westminster Foundation for Democracy – a racist and colonialist institution for furthering British interference in Africa

Central London Headquarters of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy

The colonialists usually say that it was they who brought us into history: today we show that this is not so. They made us leave our history, to follow them, right at the back, to follow the progress of their history. Today, in taking up arms to liberate ourselves, in following the examples of other peoples to liberate themselves, we want to return to our history, on our own feet, by our own means and through our own sacrifices”.

Amilcar Cabral

One of the most pervasive and destructive features of foreign intervention in Africa is the ideological and political interference by various big powers in the lives of Africa and its peoples. As Amilcar Cabral pointed out in the quote above, this intervention is aimed at breaking the independent African historical journey, disempowering Africans and pushing them down into a state of oppression.

The Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) is a British limited company that actively and unashamedly pursues a policy of ideological and political interference in Africa in support of the interests of Britain’s monopolies. This organisation, which was established in March 1992, describes itself as “an arms-length non-departmental public body which operates closely with, but is independent of, the UK Government” and declares that its vision is the “universal establishment of legitimate and effective multi-party representative democracy”. However, according to its 2016 annual report, its expenditure for the year ending 31 March 2016 of £6.3 million was completely covered by funding it received from Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development which totalled £6.4 million. Therefore, it is clear that the WFD is a wholly funded entity of the British state. The WFD’s concept of democracy is the discredited Anglo-American “representative democracy” which was enshrined in the Charter of Paris and signed in that city in November 1990 by the member states of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. This is a  democracy based on the control of the economy by the monopolies, defence of the so-called “market”, the coming to power of political parties and the marginalisation and disempowerment of the citizens who are reduced to voting fodder in elections every 4 or 5 years. Not surprisingly, there were no African representatives present at the signing of the Paris Charter and there was no African input into the definition of democracy as set out in that document. Therefore the entire project of the WFD and its activity in Africa is based on the racist premise that African people need to be schooled by the European imperialists in “democratic governance”. This is particularly offensive given the deep crisis that the system of “representative democracy” is already experiencing in both Europe and North America and the extensive history of indigenous democratic governance throughout Africa.

According to the WFD, it currently carries out its activities in at least 12 African countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, Egypt and Tunisia. In addition, it is involved in setting up and organising regional entities such as the African Liberal Network, the East African Green Federation, the Youth Academy for Africa and the Women’s Academy for Africa. In carrying out its colonialist activities in Africa, the WFD draws on all the resources of British imperialism, including its political parties and universities. For example, Oxford University’s Department of Politics and International Relations is currently engaged in a 2 year research project on WFD’s behalf. This project entitled The Political Economy of Democracy Promotion is slated to end in September 2017 and its findings are intended to contribute to making WFD’s interventions in Africa more effective.  

All of the Westminster political parties are engaged in the work of WFD in Africa.  In fact in the year to 31 March 2016, the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrats received just under £2 million from the WFD for their activities. The Conservatives received just under £700 thousand, the Labour Party just under £1 million and the Lib-Dems just over £300 thousand. In addition, through its Multi Party Office, the WFD also enlists the support of the Green Party, Democratic Unionist Party, Ulster Unionist Party, Social and Democratic Party and Plaid Cymru in carrying out its work.

The activities of the Westminster cartel parties on behalf of the WFD are wide ranging in Africa. For example, the WFD used the African Liberal Network, whose secretariat is funded by it, to intervene directly in the 2014 Botswana election in support of the Botswana Movement for Democracy. This interference included, “…. campaign support in a local by-election, a best practice workshop on political communication, and finally in the run-up to the 2014 national elections, research and voter outreach”. In its interference in Botswana, the WFD relied on the UK’s Liberal Democrats’ Head of Strategic Seat Operations, Victoria Marsom who led a peer-to-peer mentoring programme for the Botswana Movement for Democracy and its coalition partners in the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) and guided their assessment of key constituencies and the setting of targets. There are further instances of the WFD’s disregard for the sovereignty of African countries and its brazen interference in their political life. For example, at its meeting in Ghana in 2014, the newly elected executive of the Women’s Academy for Africa (WAFA) agreed their new constitution and plan of action in the presence of representatives from Britain’s Labour Party, whose presence was facilitated by the WFD.

A WFD organised visit to the Fabian Society in London by a delegation from the Tha'era Arab Women's Network

However, the WFD does not only carry out its interference in Africa in a pro-active way but also responds to political developments, in order to maintain Britain’s colonial interests in Africa.  For example, during the people’s uprisings in Egypt, a young woman, Shaimaa al-Sabbagh was shot and killed by the Egyptian police. In response, the WFD working closely with the Labour Party moved in to gain political and ideological leadership of the situation. They played an active part in the setting up of Tha’era Arab Women’s Network for Parity and Solidarity. This network draws its members from Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Lebanon. The Tha’era network then adopted its vision, mission and action plan “under the guidance” of the WFD and the Labour Party. In addition, a training the trainers manual was developed for the training of new members of the network. Betraying the colonialist nature of the entire project, WFD baldly states that the manual “…was put together in English and translated into Arabic”. It offers no explanation as to why a women’s network of Arabic speakers would produce their manual in English first before translating it into their first language.

The activities in Africa of Britain’s Westminster Foundation for Democracy are a continuation of Britain’s colonial crimes against Africa and her peoples. They represent the ideological and political component of a multi-faceted intervention which is aimed at undermining African independence, blocking the African people from returning to their own history and solving the problems they face by relying on themselves and their own traditions and ideas. These activities must be condemned and the demand made that Britain must end all its interference in Africa.