Kenya moves up in governance rating

Kenya’s governance rating among African countries has improved over the last one year.

It has jumped four places from position 27 last year to 23 this year, according to the 2011 Ibrahim Index of African Governance rankings released Monday.

Out of the 12 East African countries, Kenya is ranked fourth behind the Seychelles (1), Tanzania (13) and Uganda (20).

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation also declared former Cape Verde President Pedro Verona Pire the winner of this year’s Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African leadership in recognition of his commitment to democracy and governance.

“The prize committee has been greatly impressed by President Pedro Pires’ vision in transforming Cape Verde into a model of democracy, stability and increased prosperity. Under his 10 years as President, the nation became only the second African country to move from the UN’s Least developed category and has won international recognition for its record on human rights and good governance,” said former Organisation of African Unity (OAU) secretary General Salim Ahmed Salim, who chairs the Foundation’s prize committee.

Mr Pires will receive US $5 million (Sh515 million) annually for the next 10 years and US $200,000 (Sh20 million) annually for the rest of his life.

Past winners of the award include former presidents Nelson Mandela (South Africa), Joaquim Chissano (Mozambique) and Festus Mogae (Botswana).

Kenya has, however, performed dismally in the sub category of personal safety to its citizenry, where it was ranked among the politically unstable or crime-infested nations such as Somalia, South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe and Nigeria.

Among the factors considered in this ranking are the prevalence of social unrest, violent crime, human trafficking, political terror and extrajudicial killings.

Kenya, however, registered an impressive 78 per cent in the national security category, which considers the prevalence of cross border tensions, domestic armed conflict, government involvement in armed conflict, how many people are fleeing the country due to fear of political persecution and the existence of internally displaced persons.

The ratings come against the backdrop of the government’s efforts to resettle IDPs who were uprooted from their homes during the post-election violence in 2008.