Overall governance performance in Africa has been downgraded, first time in a decade. The United Nations (UN) data shows there are 54 countries in the continent.
The decline happened in the countries’ governance index in 2019, according to the Index of African Governance produced by the Mo Ibrahim foundation.
It reported a general decline in citizens’ participation, human rights, rule of law and security on the continent – which were worsened by the impact of Covid-19.
Last year’s score on governance fell by 0.2 points below that of 2018 but progress has been slowing since 2015.
“This is a testing time for Africa…Citizens’ dissatisfaction and mistrust with governance delivery are growing. African states have an opportunity to demonstrate both their resolve to safeguard democracy and their ability to drive a new growth model,” said the foundation’s chair Mo Ibrahim.
Nevertheless, the researchers found that a majority of Africans live in a country where governance is better than it was a decade ago.
