Progress in governance in Africa has stalled as security and political rights deteriorate in many countries, according to a new report from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation released on Wednesday.
Progress in African governance has stalled: Foundation
“It’s not a pretty story,” Ibrahim told AFP ahead of the report’s publication.
“Africa made great progress in the early decades of this century, but the past decade has shown that progress has been very slow…and in the past five years, the situation has begun to stagnate and in some cases even worsen. ”
Ibrahim, 78, is a Sudanese-British billionaire who made his fortune in the telecommunications business and funneled it into monitoring and promoting better governance across Africa.
The foundation’s biannual report, published since 2007, processes data on 322 variables, including public services, justice, corruption and security, and is considered the most comprehensive overview on the subject .
A new study found that 33 countries, home to just over half of Africa’s 1.5 billion people, have made some progress in overall governance over the past decade.
However, for the remaining 21 countries, “the situation in 2023 is even worse than in 2014,” with many showing signs of sharp decline.
Seychelles’ rapid improvement has snatched the top spot from Mauritius, another Indian Ocean island nation, in the foundation’s overall rankings.
Africa has seen several areas of low-level but widespread improvement, including infrastructure, women’s equality, health, and education.
However, much of this is being undermined by declining scores on the rule of law, rights, political participation, and especially security.
“Does the lack of security affect everyone who wants to build businesses or schools in conflict areas?” Ibrahim said.
Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia are among the countries that have experienced devastating conflicts in the past decade, and a spate of military coups in West and Central Africa since 2021 has underscored the fragility of political progress.
Ibrahim said pandemic lockdowns and a global trend toward “politics of the strong” may have emboldened dictators.
But his biggest concern is the “financial quagmire” in which African countries are stuck with high debt burdens and the high premiums they have to pay to get cash from global financial institutions.
“It’s circular,” he said. “When you don’t have enough money to build infrastructure and deal with health and education, you start to lose control and that affects safety.
“We need to break this cycle to allow people to invest in their future.”
Ibrahim knows firsthand how difficult it is to invest in Africa, having been denied a loan by a bank when he founded an African telecommunications company in the late 1990s.
According to another report by the foundation, Africa today receives only 3.3% of the world’s foreign direct investment.
Mr. Ibrahim points to the need for fundamental reform of global financial institutions and better skills training for Africa’s vast youth.
The report is at the root of growing discontent among people on the continent. Even when indicators show positive signs, public perception is bleak.
The researchers said this may indicate that many of the most severely affected populations are not included in official statistics, and that data gaps persist.
This may also reflect the phenomenon in which people’s expectations and dissatisfaction increase as public services improve.
Despite all the gloom, Ibrahim sees hope in Africa’s young generation.
“They’re more informed, they’re more entrepreneurial, and enough is enough,” he said.
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This article was generated from the Automata news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
