The Ibrahim Index On Governance

Warning bells

Mo Ibrahim says “An optimistic story is emerging from our continent’s success. A clear link can be observed between a balanced, equitable and inclusive approach to all categories of governance and national progress. These findings strongly challenge the narrative that supposes governments should pick and choose which areas to focus on at the expense of others.”

To prove this point, we find that the top five for overall governance performance, over the past five years – Mauritius, Cape Verde, Botswana, Seychelles and South Africa – have all performed high in all the four pillars.

If there is a formula for governance success, it is that you cannot have overall good governance unless you perform well in all categories. For example, while Eritrea’s performance in human development has improved by four points, its sustainable economic opportunity has declined by seven points, indicating an unbalanced performance and a rank of 47. This year’s overall winner is Mauritius while Madagascar is the only country to have declined significantly between 2006 and 2010.

But while there has been economic growth over the continent, there has been a stagnation, even reversal in the rule of law and human rights.

When asked if the juxtaposition of good economic growth and negative progress in human rights had come as a surprise to him, Ibrahim said: “It’s not a surprise, because we noticed that trend last year. At my press conference last year I said we are raising a red flag here, watch out! And this year, this is confirmed now. So it’s not a surprise, but it’s disappointing that we are able to confirm it – 37 countries saw a deterioration  in  human rights, the same number of countries saw a marked improvement in economics. That’s unacceptable.”

Why was this happening? “I really wish to know,” he replied. “We need to go deeper into this. This is a subject for serious research, by political  and social economists and all the people interested in politics. What happened in Libya, Tunisia, Cairo also a reflection of this major imbalance.

Indeed. The Ibrahim Index may look, read and appear an academic report, it is in fact, an invaluable barometer of how the continent’s leaders are conducting themselves, and as Ibrahim points, out when it raises the red flag, leaders better watch out if they are to avoid the fates of their colleagues in North Africa.