21 Nov 2017

The 2017 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) has revealed that the continent’s Overall Governance course remains positive on average, but has in recent years moved at a slower pace.

A press release from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation says as many countries struggle to build on recent progress, reverse negative trends, the emergence in some key sectors, the Foundation is calling for vigilance on the continent’s future.

It says the 11th edition of the IIAG looks at both country and indicator trends over the last five years (2012-2016), within the context of the last decade (2007-2016).

It further says by evaluating more recent progress on governance alongside long-term performance, the 2017 IIAG provides the most nuanced assessment to date of the evolution and direction that countries, regions and specific dimensions of governance are taking.

Over the last 10 years, 40 African countries have improved in Overall Governance, with the last five years, 18 of them which is a third of the continent’s countries and home to 58 per cent of African citizens including Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria and Senegal, having managed to accelerate their progress.

In 2016, the continent achieved its highest Overall Governance score of 50.8 out of 100.0 though, over the same period, Africa’s annual average rate of improvement in Overall Governance has slowed.

It explains that of the 40 countries improving in Overall Governance during the last decade, more than half (22) have either done so at a slower pace in the last five years. Furthermore, the release says eight of the 12 countries registering decline in Overall

Governance over the past decade are showing no signs of turning things around, with scores decreasing at an even faster rate over the second half of the decade.

The group includes Botswana, Ghana, Libya and Mozambique.

The best performing category of the IIAG, Human Development, reaches its highest average score of 56.1 out of 100.0 to date in 2016, with all three underlying governance dimensions of Welfare, Education and Health improving over the last 10 years.

However, it has noted all register slowing progress over the second half of the decade, worryingly, in a continent where 41 per cent of the population is under 15 years old, progress in education has nearly grounded to halt.

It says Africans are particularly dissatisfied with how governments are addressing changing educational needs, as reflected by the accelerated pace of decline in the Education Provision indicator over the last five years.

Despite being the slowest improving category over the past decade and within the past five years; sustainable economic opportunity has recorded progress since 2014.

While the African average improvement has slowed over the last five years, 16 countries, representing 51 per cent of the continent’s population and 54 per cent of its GDP, have managed to accelerate their rate of improvement in this period.

Furthermore, it says for 22 countries progress is slackening and even reversing to decline, as in Angola.

It says the sub-category Infrastructure is a major driver of the continent’s overall performance in Sustainable Economic Opportunity, picking up momentum over the last five years, even if Electricity Infrastructure continues to register average decline.

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation further says deterioration in Africa’s Rural Sector over the last five years, which could threaten recent progress in this key area for the continent’s sustainable growth and wealth-creating potential, is a particular cause for concern.

It says participation and Human Rights is the only category picking up speed in the last five years, with the greatest number of countries improving at an accelerated rate across all four categories of the IIAG, saying there are some concerning trends in certain countries and dimensions with 18 countries showing either a slower pace (i.e. Congo, Gabon, Nigeria, Rwanda, Togo and Uganda) or even display warning signs, declining in the second half of the decade (i.e. Egypt).

“The average positive trend is mainly driven by the accelerated progress in participation, led by a majority of countries improving in Free and Fair Elections. Political Participation shows a slight average decline over the last five years, which could threaten the progress, made over the decade, while average deterioration in Civil Society Participation appears to worsen over the last five years,“ it further says. ENDS