WINDHOEK – Namibia has been listed at number six on the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, one of the only eight African countries to make the top ten since 2000 along with Mauritius, Botswana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Seychelles, Tunisia and Ghana.
The seventh Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) released recently confirms that overall governance continues to improve at the continental level. The countries that have experienced overall governance improvement since 2000 are today home to 94 percent of people living on the continent. Madagascar, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Somalia, Libya and Mali constitute the 6% of African people living in a country that has experienced governance deterioration since 2000.
According to this year’s index, Namibia has showed the most progress in the category of Sustainable Economic Opportunity ranking 6th out of 52. Sustainable Economic Opportunity measures the necessary conditions for economic development, inclusive of sound public management, a competitive business environment and robust infrastructure.
Namibia scored 69.5 out of 100 which is higher than the African average of 59.2. Namibia has shown an improvement of +2.3 since 2000 ranking 4th out of 12 in the Southern African region.
Namibia scored 4th out of 52 in the category of Safety and Rule of Law, being 3rd out of 52, and scoring highest in the sub-category Infrastructure. Namibia is lowest in the category of Human Development ranking 13 out of 52. Namibia ranks lowest in the sub-category Rural Sector and Education ranking 19th out of 52 in both.
According to the index, two-thirds of the continent’s population is now under 25 and the diverging trends within the Safety and Rule of Law category are concerning. “They may sound a warning signal, with the new century seeing fewer regional conflicts but increased domestic social unrest,” said Hadeel Ibrahim the founding executive director of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
By John Travolter Matali