Botswana has started to show warning signs when it comes to overall good governance, according to the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) 2020 by Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
Introduced in 2007, the Index assesses governance performance in 54 African countries.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation defines governance as the provision of political, social, economic, and environmental public good and services that every citizen has the right to expect from their government, and that government has the responsibility to deliver to its citizens.
In the latest raking, Botswana finds itself in position five behind Mauritius which in the first place, Carbo Verde, Seychelles, and Tunisia.
South Africa, which is ranked 6th, has reportedly declined over the decade with an increased pace since 2015.
The Index further says 5th placed Botswana has started to show warning signs.
In ranking the countries, the Index uses four aspects being security and rule of law; participation, rights and inclusion; the foundation for economic opportunity; and human development.
While almost half of the African countries are reported to have registered a decline in 2019 in overall governance, a majority of them are said to have improved over the last decade.
More encouraging is that 36 countries have reportedly seen an improvement in their overall governance score since 2010, which means 61.2 percent of the continent’s population lives in a country where overall governance has progressed in the last 10 years.
The Index says the Gambia is the biggest improver of all the continent’s 54 countries due to large improvements in accountability and transparency and its participatory environment.
Libya has seen the largest decline in overall governance due to the precarious security situation and weakened social protection.
While many African countries saw an improvement in overall governance in the last decade, it has been, however, noted that between 2018 and 2019 over half of the African countries have seen their overall governance score decline.
Out of the four aspects used to determine overall governance, Botswana scored impressively on security and rule of law, coming on position three out of the 54 countries and scoring poorly on the foundation for economic development where it is ranked 13th.
The country is ranked number six in terms of participation, rights, and inclusion and five in human development.