Good governance remains top of mind on the African continent, and presents continual challenges to governments and institutions alike in each country. A key focal point for the world’s attention is also on Africa’s ability to continually improve its governance rating and, as a result, improve its reputation on the global socio-economic and political stage.
This is becoming ever more important for the African continent, particularly for countries such as South Africa, when competing in the global marketplace for business and investment against fellow Brics nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and their successors, Next 11 countries (Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey, South Korea, and Vietnam).
The benchmark for the continent in this regard can be found in the plethora of world class indices that examine not simply issues of governance, but competitiveness as a whole, based on the World Economic Forum (WEF) competitiveness pillars that examine the strength of institutions, infrastructure, goods and market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, business sophistication and innovation.
Another useful benchmark for the African continent that specifically focuses on issues around governance and compares the performance of 50 countries against this pillar, can be found in the annual publication of the much-respected Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), the 2013 edition of which was released last month.
Since its inception and launch back in 2007, it has become a highly respected, independent, and much referenced index, focused on monitoring the development of governance best practice across the continent. It remains the most comprehensive collection of quantitative data on governance in Africa, and has an essential gravitas as a result of it being compiled in partnership with experts representing the continent’s leading institutions.
This annual assessment of governance in every African country provides a framework for citizens, governments, institutions and business to assess the delivery of public goods and services, together with policy outcomes across Africa, and to benchmark performance among a total of 52 countries.
Interestingly, when examining South Africa’s performance against the IIAG’s 2013 report indicators, the country still ranks fifth overall in terms of its governance, a position it has held for the past three years.
Once again, South Africa sits in the rankings positioned behind Mauritius (1), Botswana (2), Cape Verde (3) and the Seychelles (4). Yet, the report contains some good news and also food for thought for South Africa’s citizens and those global decision-makers and influencers who are considering the country as a potential future investment destination of choice.
From a positive indicator perspective, South Africa has this year scored an overall index rating of 71.3 out of 100, higher than the African average of 51.6. This marks an overall improvement of 0.6 since 2000, and earns the country a ranking of third out of 12 countries in the southern African region.
If one specifically looks at where the country ranks highest, it is in its performance in the field of public management where it scores first place out of 52, and also in the field of participation and human rights governance, scoring a prestigious third position out of 52. This category of the IIAG measures the protection and promotion of human rights, civil and political participation and gender issues.
Overall, South Africa has also seen important improvements in ratings in index categories that are important to our global reputation as a potential investment destination of choice.
Improvements have also been recorded in the human development category relating to welfare, and in particular health, which has recorded a 15.6 percent increase.
However, on a slightly negative note, South Africa’s performance in participation and human rights has declined from the previous year’s rankings in the index.
The further good news is that South Africa is one of only eight countries to have remained consistently in the IIAG’s top 10 rankings since 2000. Other countries that have always ranked in the top 10 are Botswana, Cape Verde, Ghana, Mauritius, Namibia, the Seychelles and Tunisia.
If we are to remain consistently in the top 10 performing countries in the index, and work on moving up the overall index ranking table, it is essential that we find the critical solutions needed to address those challenging areas where the country is not performing as well.
For example, South Africa ranks lowest in the sub-category personal safety, where is scores 41 out of 52. It has also seen a change in the category safety and rule of law where it has recorded its lowest position yet in this area, 7th out of 52, with a drop in score of 3.2.
The latest survey on governance comes hard on the heels of the recently published 2013/14 WEF global competitive index, which saw South Africa improve or hold its position in the rankings in seven of the twelve pillars of competitiveness.
The country performed particularly well against its Brics counterparts, demonstrating its strength in financial market development, scoring a first place ranking among the Brics countries and third place overall in the world.
It also performed well in the sophistication of its business environment, ranking third among the Brics countries and 35th overall in the world, and also for its goods and market efficiency where it ranked second among the Brics and 28th globally.
The same high level of confidence is seen in the ranking of South Africa against the Next 11, where it outperforms these countries in the seven key pillars of institutions, infrastructure, goods and market efficiency, financial market development, technological readiness, business readiness and innovation.
So, what exactly do these rankings mean for South Africa and the building and maintenance of the country’s positive reputation in the global marketplace, particularly in relation to its position as the most recent entry into the influential and important Brics grouping of nations?
And what does this year’s index rankings mean for Africa as a whole in terms of the continent’s global reputation?
In his introduction to the 2013 IIAG report, Mo Ibrahim, its founder, observes that: “The answer is a mixture of overall progress but increased complexity. The findings highlight widespread improvements across the continent since the turn of the century. They show that 94 percent of people living in Africa now live in a country that has demonstrated overall governance improvement since 2000.
“Eighteen out of the 52 countries analysed saw their best ever performance in this year’s IIAG. But these figures, of course, also reveal the challenges of sustaining progress and underline that an equitable allocation of resources must be a priority for policy and decision-makers.”
From South Africa’s perspective, we can celebrate the overall positive ratings recorded in the report as they send a clear message to both citizens and the global investment community that the country remains well and truly open for business and is still one of the world’s attractive business investment and leisure destinations.
Underpinning this position is a keen focus on further efforts to continually develop strong governance structures across all spheres of government and society, ensuring that those areas identified as current challenges are addressed with equally effective solutions.
Ultimately, South Africa’s reputation as an exciting emerging market economy on the world stage depends upon our success in this regard.
Miller Matola is the chief executive of Brand South Africa.