Poverty which is caused by systemic issues can only be fixed when those systemic issues are dealt with. Throwing aid money at the problem often intensifies the problem, rather than helping to solve it. One of the systemic issues which causes poverty is bad governance, often including kleptocracy, nepotism, bribery, tribalism, intimidation, and absence of accountability.
An innovative way of dealing with governance issues has been proposed by Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese-born mobile telephone entrepreneur who made his fortune through Celtel, which now operates in 15 African countries. Ibrahim has established the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which last month published the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (in which 48 African countries were ranked according to various criteria), and later this month will announce the inaugural winner of the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership (a prize of $5 million plus $200,000 per year for life, awarded to a former African head of state who has demonstrated excellence in African leadership).
According to Ibrahim, “We are shining a light on governance in Africa, and in so doing we are making a unique contribution to improving the quality of governance. The Ibrahim Index is a tool to hold governments to account and frame the debate about how we are governed.” It will be interesting to see whether his initiatives make a significant contribution to governance in Africa.
One reply on “A new approach to improving governance”
[…] the inaugural winner of the largest individual prize in the world was announced. The winner of the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African […]