By REBECCA MUSHOTA –
ZAMBIA has been ranked 13th out of 52 African countries in good governance and democracy by the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG).
The latest IIAG report released by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation on Monday shows that Zambia has made an improvement in the past five years.
Zambia is among the other countries that have shown improvement. Out of a score of 100, Zambia scored 59.4.
The country that has been ranked the highest is Mauritius with 81.7 followed by Cape Verde with 76.6 while the country ranked lowest is Somalia with 8.6, trailing the Central African Republic which has 24.8.
The IIAG provides an annual assessment of the quality of governance in African countries.
It is compiled by combining over 100 variables from more than 30 independent African and global institutions, and it states in its report that it is the most comprehensive collection of data on African governance.
The foundation defines governance as the provision of the political, social and economic goods that a citizen has the right to expect from his or her country, and that a State has the responsibility to deliver to its citizens.
“The IIAG assesses progress under four main conceptual categories, and these are safety and the rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development,” the report says.
