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Governance improving in two-thirds of African countries
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Almost two thirds of sub-Saharan African governments (31 out of 48) have recorded improvements in performance, according to new data from the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which was released in Ethiopia today by the Ibrahim Foundation. The Index ranks African governments based on the quality of services they provide to their citizens, using an extensive set of 57 indicators that range from rule of law and security to healthcare and infrastructure. Mauritius topped this year’s index, with a score of 85.1 out of 100, followed by Seychelles, Cape Verde, Botswana and South Africa. Liberia was applauded for making the most improvement since last year’s index. 2006 data were used in this year’s index (because of a lag in data collection), meaning that recent developments in many African countries may not reflected in the rankings.
The Ibrahim Foundation was established by telecommunications mogul Mo Ibrahim, who has long been an advocate for improved governance and accountability in sub-Saharan Africa.
As Reuters reports, Ibrahim made the following statement at the launch:
“People look at headlines from two or three countries and forget there are 55 countries in Africa and in most of them life is normal,” Mo Ibrahim told Reuters during the launch of his foundation’s index in Ethiopia.
“Governance performance across a large majority of African countries is improving…I hope these results will be used as a tool by Africa’s citizens to hold their governments to account.”
The Ibrahim Foundation also awards an annual prize of $5 million to an African leader (executive Head of State or Government) who has demonstrated excellence in leadership. Last year’s winner was former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, who has been credited for bringing peace and democracy to a country that had been ravaged by civil war for over 17 years.
You can read more about the Index here and the Prize here.
-Nora Coghlan
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