Progress in African governance has come to a screeching halt due to conflicts over the continent’s rule of law.
The rule of law in Africa has declined over the past decade, and progress in African governance has come to a screeching halt, a major report has found.
Progress in governance in Africa continues to stall as escalating conflicts across the continent destabilize human and economic development, a new report shows.
The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) 2024, released by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation on October 23, reveals that governance progress across Africa stalled from 2022 to 2023. Governance progress in 2023 was 49.3 out of 100, an increase of only 1 point over the past decade (2014-2023).
The index analyzes the governance performance and trends of 54 African countries over the past 10 years and is based on 322 variables and four main categories: security and rule of law. Participation, rights and inclusion. Foundations of Economic Opportunity. and human development.
The index attributes this lack of progress to several factors, including the deepening security crisis and escalating conflicts across the continent.
The index shows that 33 countries, representing just over half (52.1%) of the continent’s population, have made progress in overall governance over the past decade, with 13 of those countries accelerating their progress since 2019. are. “Ivory Coast, Republic of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Somalia, Togo, and Zambia.
Seychelles has improved the most, increasing by 10 points over the past 10 years and will overtake Mauritius as the top country in 2023. The other 10 countries that have improved the most are Gambia, Sierra Leone, Angola, Mauritania, Djibouti, Morocco and Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast, Togo and Somalia.
Comoros and Tunisia have deteriorated the most, both decreasing by 4.7 percentage points between 2014 and 2023, while the other 10 worst-performing countries are Mali, Mauritius, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Namibia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Niger. It consists of And Eswatini.
A total of 11 countries – Botswana, Burkina Faso, Eswatini, Guinea, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia and Uganda – have experienced a severe deterioration in governance progress in the second half of the decade. This worrying trend is driven by the continued deterioration of key security and rule of law indicators, which have fallen by 1.6 percentage points over the past decade, making them the worst category since 2014. are.
Africa’s average governance score on rule of law and justice has fallen by 0.7 points over the past decade to 45.9. The score for “Management’s compliance with the rule of law” decreased by 3.1 points, and the score for “Fairness of the judicial system” decreased by 0.6 points. However, the governance score for “Law Enforcement Agencies” has increased by 5.3 points over the past 10 years.
Moe Ibrahim, Founder and Chairman of the Moe Ibrahim Foundation, said the 2024 Index is a solemn reminder of the threat that the deepening security crisis and shrinking participatory environment pose to the continent’s development. Ta.
However, he added that Africa’s governance situation should not be summarized in a single average. “Ours is a huge continent of 54 countries, and trends vary widely, with some countries achieving notable successes and others showing worrying signs.In fact, Sudan However, the deterioration of the situation in the Sahel countries, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tunisia and Mauritius is alarming. However, in countries such as Morocco, Ivory Coast, Seychelles, Angola and Benin, and in some key areas such as infrastructure and women’s equality. The impressive progress recorded should give hope for what can be achieved,” said Ibrahim. statement.
In other recent reports, the 2024 African Financial Markets Index (AFMI), released last week, shows that while the continent’s top financial markets continue to make steady improvements, external debt and legal standards remain a concern. revealed something.
