The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has released the Ibrahim Index of African Governance 2014, ranking Sierra Leone 25 out of 52 countries with a pass score of 51.1 percent, ahead of Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Liberia.
The 2014 report marks a 3.9 points progression above that of 2013 and this is the third consecutive year Sierra Leone has consistently made gains in this index. In 2012, the country was ranked 30 out of 53.
The Mo Ibrahim Index is an annual assessment on the quality of governance in Africa. It measures the responses of African governments to basic governance issues, including but not limited to, accountability, service delivery, economic opportunities, political and human rights.
The country made significant improvement in all four categories of the index: Safety and Rule of law, Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity and Human Development; 88 components in all. In the area of accountability, Sierra Leone made substantial progress with a grade point average of 9.4 improvement in the fight against corruption.
Commenting on the report, the ACC Commissioner, Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara, welcomes the gains but equally insists that there is more to be done to rid this country of corruption at all levels. He cautions that unless corruption is effectively tackled, economic development will continue to remain a dire challenge to Sierra Leone.
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KOLONEH SANKOH (MS)
DIRECTOR, PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH DEPARTMENT
