16 Oct 2013

 Botswana has been ranked second out of 52 countries by the Ibrahim Index of African Governance.

Speaking in an interview, head of Government Communications Information Systems (BGCIS), Dr Jeff Ramsay said the ranking showed that Botswana had improved in a number of categories and they were in line with other indices which continue to place Botswana high.

He said some people had been saying Botswana was declining but the indices continued to prove the contrary. Dr Ramsay said for the country to score high points in safety and rule of law showed that its governance institutions were working as the Global Competitiveness Report also stated.

Botswana had been favourably ranked in a number of categories, most notably in the human development category. It was ranked first in safety and rule of law, fourth in the categories of participation and human rights and human development.

Botswana scored 88.9 out of 100 in safety and rule of law, 72.9 in participation and human rights, 67.5 in sustainable economic opportunities and 81.3 in human development.

The country was highly recognised in safety and rule of law as it scored high points in the sub categories of rule of law (95.7), accountability (85.8) and national security (100).

The only sub-category where there were still challenges was personal safety where Botswana scored 74 and overall third. Meanwhile, the Ibrahim Index of African Governance stated that Botswana had improved by 5.6 since 2000.

Under participation and human rights, Botswana received favourable scores in the sub category of participation with 87.2 and 72.2 in gender and less favourable in rights, ranked number 12 out of 52 countries with 58.5 points.

In the human development category, Botswana ranks fourth in the sub category of welfare with 77.4, fifth in education with 76.9 and fifth in health with 89.4 points. As for sustainable economic opportunities, the country needs to improve rural sector where it was number 11 with 64 points, and infrastructure with 59.8.

The country did well in the sub categories of public management and business management. The score of 77.6 shows an improvement of 5.6 points since 2000 Botswana came second to Namibia as five Southern African countries were ranked in the top 10. Other countries are South Africa, Namibia and Lesotho.

Meanwhile, there had been no winners for the 2013 Mo Ibrahim Award for four consecutive years. Former President Festus Mogae won the award in 2009.

The Mo Ibrahim Award is said to be the most lucrative individual award as it comes with a US$5 million prize money spread over 10 years and an annual US$200 000 prize paid for life. Ends