Better overall governance since 2012
Namibia is one of 18 African countries where overall governance has picked up over the past five years.
Jo-Maré Duddy – The Mo Ibrahim Foundation may have highlighted Namibia as one of top ten African countries which can boast with increasing improvement of its overall governance the past decade, but the watchdog also raised red flags regarding several areas in which the country is slipping.
The 2017 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), which was launched yesterday, shows 40 countries improved in overall governance in the last ten years. Of these, 18 picked up pace over the last five years.
“In the last five years, their annual average increase in score is greater than that of the last ten years. This includes only four of the top ten highest scoring countries in overall governance in 2016: Seychelles (2nd), Namibia (5th), Tunisia (7th) and Senegal (10th),” the Mo Ibrahim Foundation says.
Of the 18 countries, ten had a change of leadership since 2007, according to the foundation – Namibia, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania and Tunisia.
“Amongst these are five of the most improved countries on the continent since 2012: Côte d’Ivoire (+8.2), Kenya (+4.9), Namibia (+4.0), Tunisia (+3.6) and Nigeria (+3.3),” the foundation says.
Problem areas
According to the IIAG, there are 14 individual areas in Namibia which show increasing deterioration, especially since 2012.
They are: access to information (-4.15); corruption and bureaucracy (-2.38); and corruption investigation (-1.20). These three issues saddled Namibia with an average annual trend of -0.53 for IIAG’s accountability category.
Despite overall improvement in the category for personal safety, two sub-categories remain worrisome: safety of the person (-0.58); and crime (-1.78).
Namibia has an average annual trend of -0.23 for the category for rights due to its -1.55 for freedom of expression, and -2.25 for freedom of association and assembly.
Other sub-categories red-flagged in the IIAG were: legitimacy of political process (-1.38); economic diversification (-1.33); competition in the business environment (-2.08); soundness of banks (-1.55); transport infrastructure (-0.78); rural land and water (-1.13); and environmental policy (-1.8).
Highlights
• Namibia scores 71.2 (out of 100.0) in overall governance, ranking 5th (out of 54) in Africa;
• Namibia scores higher than the African average (50.8) and higher than the regional average for Southern Africa (58.6);
• Namibia achieves its highest category score in Safety & Rule of Law (78.1), and its lowest category score in Sustainable Economic Opportunity (64.2).
• Namibia achieves its highest sub-category score in National Security (99.8), and its lowest sub-category score in Accountability (60.3), and Rural Sector (60.3).
• Over the last five years, Namibia shows signs of “Increasing Improvement” in Overall Governance.
• Namibia registers an Overall Governance improvement over the decade at an annual average trend of +0.42, with the pace of improvement quickening in the last five years at an annual average trend of +1.00.
• Namibia’s Overall Governance progress over the decade is driven by all of the four categories: Safety & Rule of Law (annual average trend of +0.26), Participation & Human Rights (annual average trend of +0.62), Sustainable Economic Opportunity (annual average trend of +0.51) and Human Development (annual average trend of +0.31). – Mo Ibrahim Foundation
The 2017 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), which was launched yesterday, shows 40 countries improved in overall governance in the last ten years. Of these, 18 picked up pace over the last five years.
“In the last five years, their annual average increase in score is greater than that of the last ten years. This includes only four of the top ten highest scoring countries in overall governance in 2016: Seychelles (2nd), Namibia (5th), Tunisia (7th) and Senegal (10th),” the Mo Ibrahim Foundation says.
Of the 18 countries, ten had a change of leadership since 2007, according to the foundation – Namibia, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Tanzania and Tunisia.
“Amongst these are five of the most improved countries on the continent since 2012: Côte d’Ivoire (+8.2), Kenya (+4.9), Namibia (+4.0), Tunisia (+3.6) and Nigeria (+3.3),” the foundation says.
Problem areas
According to the IIAG, there are 14 individual areas in Namibia which show increasing deterioration, especially since 2012.
They are: access to information (-4.15); corruption and bureaucracy (-2.38); and corruption investigation (-1.20). These three issues saddled Namibia with an average annual trend of -0.53 for IIAG’s accountability category.
Despite overall improvement in the category for personal safety, two sub-categories remain worrisome: safety of the person (-0.58); and crime (-1.78).
Namibia has an average annual trend of -0.23 for the category for rights due to its -1.55 for freedom of expression, and -2.25 for freedom of association and assembly.
Other sub-categories red-flagged in the IIAG were: legitimacy of political process (-1.38); economic diversification (-1.33); competition in the business environment (-2.08); soundness of banks (-1.55); transport infrastructure (-0.78); rural land and water (-1.13); and environmental policy (-1.8).
Highlights
• Namibia scores 71.2 (out of 100.0) in overall governance, ranking 5th (out of 54) in Africa;
• Namibia scores higher than the African average (50.8) and higher than the regional average for Southern Africa (58.6);
• Namibia achieves its highest category score in Safety & Rule of Law (78.1), and its lowest category score in Sustainable Economic Opportunity (64.2).
• Namibia achieves its highest sub-category score in National Security (99.8), and its lowest sub-category score in Accountability (60.3), and Rural Sector (60.3).
• Over the last five years, Namibia shows signs of “Increasing Improvement” in Overall Governance.
• Namibia registers an Overall Governance improvement over the decade at an annual average trend of +0.42, with the pace of improvement quickening in the last five years at an annual average trend of +1.00.
• Namibia’s Overall Governance progress over the decade is driven by all of the four categories: Safety & Rule of Law (annual average trend of +0.26), Participation & Human Rights (annual average trend of +0.62), Sustainable Economic Opportunity (annual average trend of +0.51) and Human Development (annual average trend of +0.31). – Mo Ibrahim Foundation
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