Abstract:
This article aims to assess the possible options and prospects for actualising the right to
development (RTD) in Africa. Mindful of the controversy surrounding the legal status of the RTD,
the article starts by problematising this by concisely looking at its legal attribute, its socio-economic
and political dimensions and the polemics of defining its nature and scope. It then proceeds to
discuss the progress made towards recognising the RTD. After establishing that the RTD is broadly
recognised at the global level and is a binding human right in the African human rights system,
the article examines the options and prospects for its actualisation. We contend that progress in
entrenchment constitutionalism and the effective involvement of the people in the constitutional
building and legislative processes provide some scope for transforming the RTD from the realms of a
rhetorical and abstract legal concept into a practical reality. The article concludes that to actualise
the RTD in African states, there is a need to lay down a solid constitutional framework, to make
people’s participation central to all development initiatives and to rely on international and regional
cooperation.
