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Noah Cheploen @cheploennoah

The prestigious Mohammed Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) has ranked Kenya 14^th on the continent.

According to the report released annually by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Africa’s governance performance declined for the first time in a decade in 2019.

According to the report released yesterday, Kenya scored 58.5 per cent in overall governance to emerge 14th in the rankings. Mauritius scooped the top position—again—with 77.2 per cent followed by Cabo Verde (73.1 per cent).

“In overall governance, Mauritius maintains the top position in 2019 for the 10th consecutive year with a score of 77.2 per cent,” the report. 

Seychelles was ranked third after scoring 72. 3 per cent. Although the report shows the rate of progress having decline, a slight improvement in governance had been noted.

Kenya’s neighbours in the East African region, Sudan and Somalia occupy the bottom two positions with 20.7 per cent and 19.2 per cent respectively.

At position 11, Rwanda is the top ranked country in the region with 60.5 per cent.

Tanzania is placed at number 19 with 53 per cent while Uganda is 22nd with 51.8 per cent. Burundi is number 44 with 36.9 per cent while Eritrea occupies number 52 with 25.8 per cent. 

In terms of security and rule of law, Kenya is ranked at position 18 with 56.3 per cent and number 14 in human development (59.4 per cent).

The country scored highly in providing foundation for economic activity, taking position five with 66.7 per cent.

“With an African average score of 48.8, overall governance has improved by +1.2 points over the last decade (2010-2019),” the report. 

Average trend

“Rate of progress has slowed since 2019, with the annual average trend between 2015 and 2019 (+0.05) being less than half that for the decade (+0.13),” it stated.

A further cause for concern is that in 2019, the African average governance score has declined for the first time over the decade, while between 2010 and 2018 

overall governance had either maintained or increased in score every year, it says.IIAG 2020 index ranked 54 countries in the continent according to progress made in a number of areas such as human development, foundations for economic opportunity, security and rule of law and participation.

Another area that African governments were assessed is rights and inclusion, which was found to have experienced a “slump” across the continent.

Overall Governance over the past decade has been driven by improvements in the categories Foundations for Economic Opportunity (+4.1) and Human Development (+3.0), the report says.

“The biggest strides have been made in the sub-categories infrastructure and health, complemented by improvements in Environmental Sustainability,” it says. 

However, the report expresses concern over growing decline in Participation, Rights and Inclusion (-1.4) and Security and Rule of Law (-0.7). 

IIAG annual report is funded by the Mo Ibrahim foundation, a brainchild of Sudanese billionaire and philanthropist Mo Ibrahim.