Criteria for unawarded Mo Ibrahim Prize ‘will stay’
MEMBERS of the prestigious Mo Ibrahim Prize panel were left scratching their heads yesterday as they came up empty-handed in their search for an eligible African leadership candidate for the $5m governance prize on offer.
Instead they opted — for the fourth time in seven years — to keep their money and wait another year for a quality leader to emerge.
Accountability remains a major challenge on the continent, with the African Union resolving at the weekend that serving African heads of state should not be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court.
Facing questions on whether it was time to reconsider the criteria, the chairman of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Mo Ibrahim, said the award was for former African presidents who displayed excellence, and there was no reason to change the criteria as “it took time to build this case”. “We have real optimism about the continent’s leaders. We think we will find the leaders. Because we have not had a winner is not sufficient reason for us to rethink the process,” said the chairman of the Ibrahim Prize committee, Salim Ahmed Salim.
The Ibrahim index showed a significantly worsening trend for safety and security and rule of law, with only 20 countries improving on this measure, leaving 32 countries with decreasing levels last year.
A senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, Johan Burger, said the results of the index were not unexpected. “It confirms the situation we have been describing for the last number of months — that we are slipping in terms of safety and security issues.”
The programme manager at the South African Institute of International Affairs, Yarik Turianskyi, said while it was commendable for the foundation to stick to its high principles, a number of suitable can- didates were starting to emerge.
Former Irish president Mary Robinson, who serves on the award committee, said Liberia’s and Malawi’s female leaders would be considered after their terms.
The survey showed SA had kept its score of 71% in the 2012 Ibrahim index of African governance, was rated fifth out of 52 countries, and third-best in Southern Africa.
MO IBRAHIM, the chairman of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, yesterday called for honest dialogue to heal the rift between the African Union (AU) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying a move away from political manipulation is needed to ensure better justice for African victims.
An African Union summit at the weekend left African leaders’ relationship with the international court in tatters, after they resolved that serving heads of state and government should be immune from prosecution.
This was a clear warning by the AU that it hopes to stop the crimes-against-humanity trial about to begin in The Hague against Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta. The meeting resolved that ICC cases against the presidents of Kenya and Sudan should be deferred.
African countries accuse the International Criminal Court of disproportionately targeting African leaders. The court has indicted only Africans so far, though half of the eight cases it is prosecuting were referred by African governments.
“We are between a rock and a hard place,” said Mr Ibrahim.
He also said while the AU’s position that the court had not prosecuted anyone but Africans could be understood, as Africa had its “fair share” of genocides and massacres.
“Africa has not cornered the market on atrocities — so that is a valid question.
“But at the same time, you need to ensure that there is no impunity in Africa.” Unfortunately, said Mr Ibrahim, Africa does not have an African court of justice, which was needed. He called for “honest and good dialogue” between the ICC and AU. “We invite them to sit sensibly and talk about it. It is a real issue.”
He said that a conflicted justice system would see the continent lose credibility.
“What is important is we have victims in various places in Africa. Who is going to give these victims justice? Let us work to find a proper way to have justice for African people and frankly, move away from political manipulation.”
Steven Gruzd, the head of the South African Institute of International Affairs’ governance and African peer review mechanism programme, said the strained relations with the ICC made it difficult to offer a “lifeline” for African victims.
“A lot of these victims have not been able to find justice in their national spheres, which is why this court came into existence. The ICC represents a lifeline. The strained relations make that difficult,” he said.
But Africa is moving quickly to ensure dialogue does take place to resolve the impasse. A small contact group has been set up to urgently seek an audience with the ICC.
“Moves are afoot to expedite this dialogue,” said Mr Gruzd.
The Ibrahim Prize for achievement in African leadership was left vacant for the fourth time in seven years.
SA’s ranking fell one place since 2000, though it maintained its position as fifth best on the continent. However, it has experienced a notable decline in its score for participation and human rights since 2000.