Malawi drops on governance index: Mo Ibrahim says ‘youth leadership could transform for better’

Malawi has slipped to position 19 from 18 out of 54 African nations on the Mo Ibrahim Foundation (MIF) Governance Index which assesses African countries’ performance on several governance and accountability indicators with the country scoring 55.8 percent  representing a  deteriorating governance trend of -1.4 points between 2008 and 2017.

The development has come against the background of Malawi registering stagnation in terms of adhering to good governance principles over the past decade.

According to the 2018 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) report, the foundation’s 12th, which looks at both country and indicator trends over a period by evaluating more recent progress in governance alongside long-term performance, Malawi showed shortfalls in overall governance.

On transparency and accountability, Malawi has scored 38.3 percent, ranking 24, with a deterioarating trend of -5.1 points. This category measures access to public  and legislative information, access ti records of State-owned companes, accountability of government an public employees, sanctrions for abuse of office, absence of corruption in government branches and public sector and anti-corruption mechanism.

Malawi has also been ranked among five countries in   alarming deteriorations over the decade in reliability of electricity supply, which the Foundation says is crucial to development  and the ability to provide sustainable economic opportunities.

However, in  the sub categories, Malawi achieved its highest score in national security ( (95.4), rule of law

(75.8) health (68.4) and participation and human rights (64.5) and scored poorly on rural sector (49.5)m business environment (42.6) and infrastructure (35.3).

The country registered its biggest score improvement in 2013 when it was ranked 16th out of 52 nations after it jumped with one step from position 17th in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Its worst performance was in 2009 when it was on position 23 out of 53.

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance is the most comprehensive measure of governance on the African continent.

In launching the report this week, Mo Ibrahim, the Sudanese telecoms billionaire-turned-benefactor, maintained his call for youthful leadership in Africa to transform the continent.

“Africa has a huge challenge ahead. Its large and youthful potential workforce could transform the continent for the better, but this opportunity is close to being squandered.

“The evidence is clear – young citizens of Africa need hope, prospects and opportunities. Its leaders need to speed up job creation to sustain progress and stave off deterioration. The time to act is now,” he said.

The report said that the “dismal trajectory” in the business environment threatened to lead to “brain drain, political and social unrest, instability and armed conflict”.

It added: “On average, African governments have failed to produce environments that enable their citizens to pursue economic goals and provide the opportunity to prosper.”

Mauritius stayed in the top slot for overall governance, despite falling back slightly, while South Africa fell out of the top five. Somalia, although it has improved, remained bottom of the heap.

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