/ 6 October 2009

SA drops in international rating

South Africa has dropped four places in the global index of African governance due to concerns about the rule of law, transparency, corruption and human rights.

Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government released its 2009 Index of African Governance on Thursday in Johannesburg.

The index ranks all 53 African countries according to performance in safety and security, rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development.

Mauritius tops the list as the best governed country in Africa, a position the island state has held since the index was started two years ago. South Africa ranks 9th, dropping from 5th place last year, while its neighbouring state, Botswana, remains in fourth position.

The Seychelles and Cape Verde take second and third places. Pre- trial detention rates in South Africa are increasing, showing the declining effectiveness of the justice system, the index says. This influenced the country’s score on the rule of law.

Using the Transparency International Corruption Index, the Harvard report assesses a drop in South Africa’s performance here, as it does in human and civil rights such as press freedom and workers’ rights.

Reports from Reporters Without Borders were used to measure press freedom, while human rights reports from the United States state department were also used.

According to the index’s assessment of safety and security the high crime rate has led to a decline in physical integrity rights. ‘South Africa has slipped a little, from 5th to 9th place, largely because of its lower scores in the areas of respect for civil and political rights and the rule of law,” the report says.

‘In particular its declines in terms of respect for physical integrity rights are notable. ‘Although South Africa performs relatively well in most categories of the index — its very low score in safety and security reflects the country’s high crime rates. ‘The index also reveals continuing challenges in South Africa in terms of poverty and inequality.”

The 2009 index includes North African countries for the first time. Tunisia and Algeria are in fifth and seventh places respectively, and their entry into the index contributed to South Africa’s drop in the rankings, the researchers say.

Research director Rachel Gisselquist told the Mail & Guardian that Harvard had previously researched the index with funding from the London-based Mo Ibrahim Foundation, but that ‘we agreed to go our separate ways because the Ibrahim Foundation wanted more involvement in the editorial process”.

‘As scholars we were unable to accept that position because we prize our editorial independence and believe our work should be conducted without outside influences. The result is that there will now be two [indices], one from Harvard and one from the Ibrahim Foundation.”

The foundation’s executive director, Hadeel Ibrahim, told the M&G that the index was always meant to be transferred to ‘African sources”.

The foundation’s research team includes a technical committee of African academics and governance experts from Afrobarometer, the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, the American University in Cairo, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, based in Senegal, and the Institut de Recherche Empirique en Economie Politique, in Benin.