afrol News, 26 October - Responsible political leadership in Africa will soon pay the prize it deserves, a Sudanese-born business tycoon, Mo Ibrahim, announced today. Mr Ibrahim, who has attained British citizenship, is the founder and chairman of Celtel International mobile phone group in sub-Saharan Africa. His new prize will pay hefty sums to Africa's most excellent non-corrupt political leaders.

Dubbed Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, the prize awards the laureate $US 5 million for ten years, starting next year. After ten years, $US 200, 000 will be awarded annually for life. Besides, an additional US$ 200,000 per annum will be made available for causes espoused by an African leader who demonstrates excellence in political leadership. It is funded with an estimated US$ 100 million.

"Nothing is more important to African development than good governance," 'Universial Press International' quoted Mr Ibrahim as saying today. "The foundation will aim to change fundamentally the choices faced by African leaders, and as a result, recast the terms of the governance debate."

Mr Ibrahim's initiative, which is first of its kind in Africa, will encourage African leaders to demonstrate political excellence. Notable world leaders, including UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Presidents of America and South Africa, hailed the initiative and described it as second-to-none.

Mr Blair said the foundation's aims are in tandem with his goals of encouraging exemplary leadership in Africa.

Mr Ibrahim can certainly afford the enormous amount invested in the prize - giving it a size that would be able to make a difference. His firm attracts seven million customers in Africa and employed 3,500 staff. He sold it last year for US$ 3.4 billion to KWT.

"The prize will bring the issue of good governance and effective leadership into debate," Mr Ibrahim noted. "This is an African effort, with African money, from African private citizens."

Candidates were to be chosen based largely, though not completely, on the Mo Ibrahim Index of Governance in Africa, a new country-by-country ranking of effective leadership in sub-Saharan Africa developed by Robert Rotberg of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. "This is a brand-new ranking system," Mr Rotberg said. "Nothing like this has ever been done to measure African governments."

"Nothing, simply nothing, is more important to African development than good governance," Mr Ibrahim added. He said his foundation aims to challenge fundamentally the choices faced by African leaders and as a result recast the terms of the governance debate.

"I am ashamed that we always have to look to the rest of the world for assistance. It impacts on our dignity and our self-respect. We want to celebrate the guy who managed to take his people out of poverty.

That deserves the largest prize in the world," he said, adding that billions of dollars are dashed to African countries yet they lack quality leadership. Mr Ibrahim said when matters of life and death are concerned, five million dollars reward for good leaders is peanuts.

It is reported that the award winner would be be chosen by a team of eighteen academics in collaboration with UN and other bodies. They were to be informed by the Ibrahim Index, which assesses national progress on sustainable economic development, health and education programmes, transparency and empowerment of civil society, democracy and human rights, security and the rule of law.

Mr Ibrahim told 'Financial Times' that fears of financial insecurity incite African leaders to corrupt and cling to power. "The prize will offer good people, who may be wavering, the chance to opt for the good life after office."

A non-profit making organisation, Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which is governed by a board of trustees, will run the awards. The board includes Mr Ibrahim, Salim Ahmed Salim, former secretary general of the defunct Organisation of African Unity, and Mary Robinson, former UN high commissioner for human rights and president of Ireland.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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