Mo Ibrahim Foundation to launch 2020 African governance index

The foundation was established in 2006 by Sudanese-British billionaire Mo Ibrahim with a focus on governance and leadership on the continent, which it says lie at the heart of any tangible and shared improvement in the quality of life of Africans.

JOHANNESBURG, November 3 (ANA) – The Mo Ibrahim Foundation will launch its annual African governance index on November 16, it said late on Monday.

The foundation was established in 2006 by the Sudanese-British billionaire of the same name with a focus on governance and leadership on the continent, which it says lie at the heart of any tangible and shared improvement in the quality of life of Africans.

In a statement, it said the 2020 Index of African Governance (IIAG), Africa’s foremost dataset on governance, would provide a clear picture of governance progress over the decade 2010-2019.

It would also probe how countries were set to manage the challenges of climate change, lack of employment and, more recently, the impact of Covid-19 on the continent’s social, economic and political landscape.

The index has undergone a major upgrade, the first revision of its kind since 2007, to make it stronger and more comprehensive in line with the current governance context.

“This year’s report tracks progress in new dimensions such as environment, digital rights, healthcare affordability and inequality in social protection,” the foundation said.

Formerly embedded at various levels in the index, citizens’ assessment of various governance components is now highlighted in a new, specific section, providing a comprehensive “reality check” to complement the results with citizens’ perceptions and satisfaction with public services.

Thanks to a stronger data landscape, with wider and more robust coverage, 90 percent of the IIAG’s indicators are now “clustered” indicators, based on more than one single variable from source. This ensures that potential biases are compensated, and results in a clearer, more complete and more stable framework.

Other activities of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation include the Ibrahim Prize, which celebrates excellence in African leadership and is awarded to a former executive head of state or government chosen by an independent committee composed of eminent figures.

Another, The Ibrahim Leadership Fellowships, is a selective programme designed to mentor future African leaders.

The flagship event of the foundation is the Ibrahim Governance Weekend, held every year in a different African country, which convenes prominent political and business leaders, representatives from civil society, multilateral and regional institutions as well as the continent’s major international partners to debate issues of critical importance.

– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa