Monday, October 10, 2011

Kenya improves in Africa's governance ranking



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President Kibaki displays the new Constitution last year: The Constitution will help in building a firmer foundation for governance and economic development. Photo/AFP
President Kibaki displays the new Constitution last year: The Constitution will help in building a firmer foundation for governance and economic development. Photo/AFP 
By NATION REPORTER and AFP
Posted  Monday, October 10  2011 at  11:16
IN SUMMARY
Kenya's performance in the 2011 Ibrahim Index of African Governance:
  • Kenya scores 53 (out of 100) for governance quality and is ranked 23rd out of 53 countries.
  • Kenya scores higher than the regional average for East Africa which is 46.
  • Kenya scores higher than the continental average which is 50.
  • At sub-category level, Kenya’s highest rank is in Gender and Rural Sector (11th) and lowest in Personal Safety and Infrastructure (40th).
  • Over the past five years Kenya's overall governance quality deteriorated (between 2006 and 2010).
  • Kenya is ranked 4th out of 12 countries in East Africa.
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Kenya has been ranked 23rd in Africa on governance issues according to the latest ratings released on Monday by Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
The country ranked highest on National Security matters scoring 78 per cent. (Read: Kenya slips in new governance ranking)
In Eastern Africa, Kenya is ranked fourth among 12 nations. Kenya's infrastructure development scored lowest with 18 per cent.
At sub-category level, Kenya’s highest rank is in Gender and Rural Sector where its ranked 11th and lowest in Personal Safety and Infrastructure where its ranked 40.
However, Kenya's overall performance on governance quality over the past five years has deteriorated.
Countries that have consistently ranked in the top five for overall governance performance, which include Mauritius, Cape Verde, Botswana, Seychelles and South Africa have, up to now, also performed highly in all four categories.
East Africa's performance
East Africa has been ranked fourth out of five regions for overall governance quality and in Safety and Rule of Law and Sustainable Economic Opportunity.
For the remaining two categories East Africa is ranked third out of five.
East Africa has also scored below the continental average for all the categories and 12 out of 14 sub-categories of the Index.
Gender and Rural Sector are the only sub-categories in which East Africa ranks above the continental average.
In these sub-categories East Africa is ranked second out of five regions.
The region is ranked bottom in two sub-categories: National Security and Public Management.
Best performing
Mauritius stayed at the top of the index, With a score of 82 out of 100, ahead of Cape Verde (79), Botswana (76), Seychelles (73) and South Africa (71).
Two countries whose leaders were overthrown in the Arab Spring, Tunisia and Egypt, were ranked ninth and tenth respectively.
Somalia remained at the bottom with a score of eight, with Chad (31), Zimbabwe (31), Democratic Republic of Congo (32) and Central African Republic (33) ahead of the troubled state.
Ibrahim said that imbalanced development in Africa could lead to more revolutions such as the uprisings seen in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
"If economic progress is not translated into better quality of life and respect for citizens' rights, we will witness more Tahrir Squares in Africa," he said.
"What we see is stagnation, and in many countries reversal in human rights and participation.
"That reversal in the rights of citizens must be stopped and African leaders must really pursue a balanced development agenda.
"If you don't believe us, just look at Tahrir Square. When you look at the data which emerged, you see that development has to be equitable," he added, referring to the protest hub in Cairo.
"Tunisia and Egypt were in the top 10 of the index. There is great progress in human development, a lot of young people well-educated, but terrible human rights, terrible democracy, lack of participation and no jobs for young people.
"You end up with what happened in Tunis and Cairo. What we need is a balanced development across the board."

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