Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Africa governance prize finds no winners


Thanks for sharing this article Kome!

Not surprised at the Africa Governance Prize Committee's decision to not award the prize to any candidate this year, I really can't think of anyone who qualifies. Maybe when Rwanda's Kagame or even our dear Yar'Aadua, decides to step down, then we can have some potentials worth debating over. Thoughts on whether they got it wrong this time?


*****************

Africa governance prize finds no winners - Financial Times

Mo Ibrahim, the Sudanese telecoms magnate, will not award his $5m African leadership prize this year, a decision seen as a rebuke to the former presidents of Nigeria, South Africa and Ghana, among others.

The prize, now in its third year, is given to heads of state who rule wisely and hand over power to elected successors.

Mr Ibrahim launched the award, along with a related index on African governance, after concluding that poor governance was the biggest impediment to Africa’s development, and deciding to devote the fortune he made selling Celtel, his telecoms company, to the promotion of leadership.

He intended the prize, which he has no say over, would stir debate on governance. This year it has, on cue.

Thabo Mbeki, the former South African president, Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s leader between 1999 and 2007, and John Kufuor of Ghana were all eligible, having stood down within the past three years.

The decision not to reward them was made by a panel including Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary-general, Salim Ahmed Salim, former chairman of the Organisation of African Unity, Mary Robinson, Ireland’s former president, and Mohamed ElBaradei, the outgoing director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

On Monday, Mr Ibrahim said people could draw their own conclusions about the decision.

In a statement, the prize committee “welcomed the progress made on governance in some African countries while noting with concern recent setbacks in other countries”. It added that after an “in-depth review the prize committee could not select a winner”.

The three main candidates played prominent roles mediating conflicts and building pan-continental institutions. They were far more influential on the international stage than previous winners, Festus Mogae of Botswana and Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique.

However, Mr Mbeki and Mr Obasanjo were divisive figures at home, with the former Nigerian leader losing the battle against corruption and sacrificing credibility with a last-minute attempt to prolong his rule. Mr Mbeki drew fierce criticism for his controversial stance on the HIV/Aids crisis.

Mr Kufuor was considered by supporters at home and abroad to be the obvious winner after presiding over a rare peaceful transfer of power to his party’s opponents. However, in recent months his record has come under scrutiny and there are growing concerns about Ghana’s role as a conduit for cocaine during his tenure.

13 comments:

  1. I was really confused as to why Kufuor could not have won the prize, but after reading this, I have a better understanding.

    Consequently, it is a good thing that nobody won it then. Let that be a testament to the failure of many African leaders to stand up and do right. That being said, there are African leaders that are trying and doing the best they can in tough conditions. Those who are riding their nations into the ground, unfortunately could give two kobo about the prize. They make 100 times the award from their corrupt schemes.

    Anyway, hope you are well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's so true, they "could care less" leaders make more than a 100 times the award, and already have enough bad publicity so really COULDN'T CARE LESS about being considered for the award.

    Thanks for stopping by Solo!

    ReplyDelete
  3. [url=http://garciniacambogiaselectz.weebly.com]
    what is garcinia cambogia[/url] is the richest fat fervid force out nearby in hawk now a days. Lose upto 10 kg in 1 month. garcinia cambogia select

    ReplyDelete

  4. thank the good topic.
    Welcome To Casino online Please Click the website
    thank you.
    gclub
    gclub online
    goldenslot

    ReplyDelete
  5. It’s the best time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I could I want to suggest you few interesting things or suggestions.You can write next articles referring to this article. I desire to read even more things about it..
    ERP software companies
    Best ERP software
    RFID Solutions
    Manufacturing ERP
    Oil and gas ERP
    ERP for the manufacturing industry

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's true, really work. Here's my piece about that.

    ReplyDelete

  7. Your good knowledge and kindness in playing with all the pieces were very useful. I don’t know what I would have done if I had not encountered such a step like this.
    microsoft azure training in bangalore
    rpa training in bangalore
    best rpa training in bangalore
    rpa online training

    ReplyDelete
  8. It is amazing and wonderful to visit your site.Thanks for sharing this information,this is useful to me...
    AWS training in sholinganallur
    AWS training in Tambaram
    AWS training in Velachery

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for sharing Such a valuable information.Im very thankful to You That You Had Given Me This opportunity to write on This blog.please visit our website I Assure You That it will be very useful for @ Packers And Movers Gurgaon
    Packers And Movers Gurgaon to Jaipur
    Packers And Movers Gurgaon to Delhi

    ReplyDelete
  11. Here is the Complete Guide on Content Pruning SEO that covers the meaning, benefits of Content Pruning in SEO rankings.

    ReplyDelete