30
Sep
Progress in human development and good governance has dipped in five African countries that have previously been among the continent’s frontrunners, according to the annual Ibrahim index of African governance.
Over the past five years, Botswana, Cape Verde, Mauritius, Seychelles and South Africa recorded lower scores in at least one category of the index, which measures overall government performance, safety and rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunities and human development.
Botswana registered a fall in economic indicators, Cape Verde had losses in human development while Mauritius, Seychelles and South Africa dropped in security and legal indicators.
The annual index, published on Monday by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, was established by the Sudanese philanthropist in 2006 to chart Africa’s development.
“The results show that high ranking countries cannot assume that future achievements will necessarily follow previous accomplishments. More generally, let us make sure that the Africa Rising narrative that everyone is talking about truly benefits all African people,” said Jay Naidoo, a board member at the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
Countries that had been held back by conflict in previous years, such as Ivory Coast and Guinea, ranked as the most improved countries in this year’s index. Egypt and Libya, marred by internal strife, saw the biggest slides.
Of the 52 African countries ranked in the index, 41 showed progress in human development, while 39 indicated an improvement in government performance.
“Africa is progressing but maybe not in the way you think it is. Even if the overall picture looks good, we must all remain vigilant and not get complacent,” said Mo Ibrahim.
“We must welcome the fact that 13 out of the 52 countries show wide-reaching gains, having improved in overall governance and in the political, social and economic governance dimensions over the past five years.”
Overall, safety and rule of law indicators in African countries slid, and sustainable economic opportunities also declined across the continent in this year’s index.
“The dramatic deteriorations or underperformance of some countries are a cause for concern. Over the past five years, every one of the top five ranking countries has deteriorated in at least one category, demonstrating that even the highest performers need to remain vigilant and retain an ongoing commitment to the governance agenda,” Ibrahim said.
Lord Cairns, a board member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, said: “Perhaps some of the low-hanging fruit of better economic management have been garnered. The challenge grows for the continent to become a fully competitive force in the global market at a time when commodity price trends are becoming less helpful to many countries on the continent.”
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/