Index puts SA on upward curve — till end-2016

Despite controversy over state capture and financial instability‚ governance in SA is showing signs of bouncing back from a decade of decline, according to the annual Mo Ibrahim index of African governance.

The Seychelles‚ Namibia and Tunisia occupied the top-tier positions for overall performance. SA ranked sixth in overall governance, while remaining in the top 10 most deteriorated countries over the past decade.

The index collates 17 years of data for 54 African states‚ using criteria such as security‚ human rights‚ economic stability‚ just laws‚ free elections‚ corruption‚ infrastructure‚ poverty‚ health and education.

Jay Kruuse, director of the Public Service Accountability Monitor at Rhodes University, said the index was a credible and valuable source of information about the trends in governance. It was the most comprehensive collection of data on African governance, drawing upon 36 independent data institutions using a combination of 100 indicators. But he cautioned that the data informing the latest index results only ran up until the end of 2016.

“In 2017, SA has attracted increased attention with major concerns and exposés being raised that key sectors of government are captured by private interests and that governance processes have been circumvented or compromised in key state entities,” he said.

Among the factors likely to negatively affect the 2017 index results for SA, to be released at the end of 2018, will be the credit rating downgrades that followed President Jacob Zuma’s controversial sacking of finance minister Pravin Gordhan in March 2017; the resulting downturn in the economy; record undercollection of tax revenue; an increasing number of exposés surrounding Eskom; and inaction on the part of law enforcement authorities.