" For the first time since 2010, the level of global governance on the African continent is declining." 

Barometer of the State of Governance in Africa,  the Ibrahim Index for African Governance (IIAG), for the first time since 2010, is " alarmist " because of the deterioration of the global situation on the continent. In this interview with the editorial staff of Financial Afrik, Ms. Aïcha Bah Diallo, spokesperson for the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, discusses the findings of the report.

What are the conclusions of the Ibrahim Index for African Governance (IIAG) 2020 ?

As you know, there are four main categories in the index: security and the rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunities and human development, which are divided into  sub-categories. According to the indicators contained in this new report, we see progress in two categories. A lot of progress by the way. For example, the Foundations of Economic Opportunities category saw  an increase of +4.1 points, the Human Development category which saw +3 points, as a result of the progress made in the sub-categories infrastructure and health and sustainable environment. Unfortunately, progress is now threatened by deterioration in the other two categories. We have participation, law and inclusion which saw a decline of -1.4 and security and rule of law which saw a decline of -0.7. So you have understood, there must be a balance between the categories. 

The 2020 Ibrahim Index shows a decline in overall progress for the first time in a decade, what are the reasons?

Indeed, for the first time since 2010, the level of global governance on the African continent is declining. This is not considerable, minus 0.2 points (out of 100) in ten years, but it is a warning signal. Nor is it an unexpected fall, but rather the culmination of a long trend. Because if, since 2010, global governance has improved, and 6 out of 10 Africans live in 2019 in a country whose governance is better than in 2010, in recent years progress has been slowing. And this evolution ended up leading, for the first time, to a fall in 2019.  How did we get here? Let us first recall that governance is the ability of a government to properly deliver all public goods and services to which every citizen is entitled to claim. On the one hand, progress in economic and social development has slowed down, while on the other the dimensions relating to participation, fundamental rights and freedoms and inclusion have continued to deteriorate, sometimes faster and faster. This lame progression eventually leads to the fall.

What is the level of satisfaction of populations with governance ?

The feelings of citizens are judged in relation to the actions of their rulers  in their countries. The fact is that the rulers must be accountable to the people. Now, in all categories, we must see, for example, whether at the level of the elections was free and transparent, was there violence, is the award of contracts done in a transparent manner, the level of corruption, the state of health care, is there running water, is there electricity on a regular basis, etc. And that's according to that we have the perception of the population. There have still been data at the level of 39 countries and at the level of the latter 87% of the population shows that it is not satisfied. But we can still say that since 2010, governance has been better because 60% of the population lives in countries where life is good. 

The report notes dysfunctions in the electoral process in many African countries. What can be done to achieve free and fair elections?

In 2019,  the situation is still better than in 2010. But this is only the result of the progress made in the first half of the decade. Since then, there has been a deterioration in the situation, mainly driven by the deterioration noted, particularly with regard to the integrity of the elections and the functioning of the electoral commissions. This is the finding of several sources, because the indicator "democratic election" is the consolidated result of data from three different sources: CDD (Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Global Integrity, and V-DEM (Varieties of Democracy Institute).

What impact could Covid-19 have on the performance of African states?

Certainly a considerable impact. First of all, we must not consider too quickly that the African continent is "spared" by the virus. Several factors may explain a situation that remains better than in other equivalent regions, including the strong responsiveness of African governments, informed by the Ebola experience. Nevertheless, it is likely that the figures remain within reality, and the first wave continues to swell: on 15 December, there were 2,401,953 cases recorded, i.e. + 4% in five days, and + 22% in one month, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria are now among the most affected countries. In addition, the current pandemic is increasingly weighing on already fragile health structures, and is having a worrying crowding-out effect on the attention paid to other diseases, particularly communicable ones. In addition, the number of schoolchildren and students abandoned has increased considerably,  and there have also been damaging consequences in terms of excessive restriction of freedoms, increased violence against women in particular, unjustified democratic restrictions. Above all, however, it is clear that the impact of the pandemic on the African continent will, and is already, devastating economically and socially,  and for the first time in 25 years, Africa will enter a recession. The drastic fall in external demand for raw materials, the shutdown of tourism and hospitality, the often severe containment measures have reduced almost to nothing the prospects of activity, employment, or even survival for the most fragile. All in all, therefore, it is a serious threat to the substantial progress that has been made in the economic and social fields. And it is also an additional attrition of the future prospects offered to our youth, with what this entails of additional frustrations and anxieties, attraction to illegal migration or criminal or terrorist networks...