The quality of governance in Africa has declined for the first time in almost ten years, a survey published on Monday revealed.
According to the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) — the most comprehensive survey of its kind on the continent, governance performance worsened in 2019 for the first time in nearly a decade due to a broad deterioration in human rights, security and rule of law.
The IIAG report is funded by the foundation of Sudanese telecoms billionaire, Mo Ibrahim. It rates 54 African nations against criteria including security, human rights, economic stability, just laws, free elections, corruption, infrastructure, poverty, health and education.
The 2019 African average score for overall governance declined by -0.2 points from 2018, according to the report. This registered the first year-on-year score deterioration since 2010.
Over the past decade, progress had achieved had been mainly driven by improvements in economic opportunities and human development.
“This is threatened, however, by an increasingly precarious security situation and concerning erosion in rights as well as civic and democratic space,” the report said.
The survey registered what it considered worrying declines in the areas of participation, rights and inclusion, and security and rule of law.
Top performers according to country rankings included Mauritius, Cape Verde and Seychelles, with South Sudan, Eritrea and finally Equatorial Guinea rounding out the bottom of the classification.
Ghanaians In The US To Demonstrate For Free And Fair Elections
Ghanaians domiciled in the United States are to hold a demonstration at Capitol Hill, the pinnacle of the US Congress this Saturday.
The demonstration, according to organizers, is to draw the world’s attention to Ghana’s upcoming elections in December and rally global interest in the election which they believe is in danger of being rigged.
Organizers, Concerned Ghanaians In The United States (CGITUS) also announced that they will, in addition, address a press conference as part of the campaign.
“Tension is already brewing in the country because there have been several electoral flaws allegations levelled against the current EC in her past exercises upon assuming office and the preparations towards the upcoming elections. Some of these flaws included alleged duplicate voters in the biometric registration system, missing names from the new voter’s register, deletion of names from the register without publishing the list of the affected people,” the group stated.
“These have created an inconsistency in the fundamental link between the trust in election infrastructure and the confidence that Ghanaians place in basic democratic function.
According to the US-based Ghanaians, Ghana’s electoral process infractions under the leadership of the EC, Mrs. Jean Mensah, who was appointed by the current President on July 23, 2018, has raised serious red flags concerning the credibility and transparency of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
“The shortcomings of the EC, coupled with the weak institutions in Ghana have psyched the minds of many Ghanaians about possible disenfranchisement of voters from the opposition political parties and probable rigging in favour of the incumbent President,” the group noted.
The Concerned Ghanaians believe that these drawbacks can cause potential violence in the country.
The statement was signed by Dr. Solomon Owusu, a vocal former member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and another leading member of CGITUS, investigative journalist, Kevin Ekow Taylor.
“A written petition will be submitted to the Ghana Electoral Commissioner (EC) and copies will be sent to the President of the Republic of Ghana, the UN, EU, AU, ECOWAS, Ambassadors and High Commissioners in Ghana,” the statement added.