Nearly half of Africa’s citizens live in a country where governance has worsened over the past decade, as deteriorating security erodes progress, according to a new report.
The annual Ibrahim Index of African Governance report found that in spite of the positive progress in 33 countries, overall governance was worse in 2023 in 21 countries, accounting for just under half of Africa’s population, compared with 2014.
For several countries, including densely populated Nigeria and Uganda, the deterioration in overall governance had worsened over the second part of the decade, according to the report released by Sudanese-British billionaire businessman Mo Ibrahim’s foundation.
“We can see a huge arc of instability and conflicts and this deterioration, and security and safety of our people, is the biggest driver of deterioration and governance…putting everything down in general,” Ibrahim told Reuters in an interview.
Ibrahim pointed to the coups in West Africa and the war in Sudan but said poor governance also fostered violence and instability.
“If there is deterioration in governance, if there is corruption, if there is marginalization…people are going to pick up arms,” he said.
The report found that infrastructure – from mobile phone access to energy – and women’s equality, were better in 2023 for roughly 95 per cent of Africans.
Health, education, and business environment metrics have also improved continent-wide but the report found that public perceptions of progress were grim, even when the corresponding governance dimensions showed progress; all public perception indicators, apart from those tracking women’s leadership, declined.
The worst drops were in perceptions of economic opportunities and of safety and security.
The foundation said this could be due to higher expectations in countries that were making progress, and also a tendency to focus on what is not working.
However, Ibrahim said it was a serious problem.
“If public dissatisfaction is high, that obviously can lead to unrest, it can lead to increased migration, conflicts,” he said. (Reuters/NAN)
