(Seychelles News Agency) - The Ibrahim Index of African Governance this week placed the Seychelles fourth out of 54 African nations on a broad range of governance-related criteria.

The island nation off the eastern coast of Africa, with its population of just under 100,000 inhabitants, rose two places after being ranked sixth in 2015.

The Seychelles Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Wednesday that the country is proud of the outcome of the 2016 assessment that has placed the country among the top performing countries in the index. 

The report issued on Monday by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation suggests that island nations off the coast of Africa are performing better than most of their continental peers, with neighbouring Indian Ocean island Mauritius taking the number one spot and the West African isles of Cabo Verde in third place. Botswana and Namibia were the only countries from the mainland in the top five of the index, at second and fifth place respectively.

The ups and downs of Seychelles

This year, Seychelles scored 72.6 out of a possible 100 points on criteria in four dimensions: Safety and Rule of Law, Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity, and Human Development. The archipelago secured a 2.3-point rise over its previous score of 70.3 in 2015. Over the past 10 years, the Seychelles has shown a four-point increase in its score.

Seychelles recorded improvements in most of the four main index categories except for Safety & Rule of Law, where the country slid to fifth place overall. (Ibrahim Index of African Governance 2016) Photo License: CC-BY

Seychelles recorded improvements in most of the four main index categories except for Safety & Rule of Law, where the country slid to fifth place overall. The country saw increases in Participation & Human Rights and in Sustainable Economic Opportunity. Seychelles also sits atop the Human Development index category in first place.

Some of the sub-categories which showed the most improvement were in Rural Accountability and Transparency, Transparency of State-Owned Companies and Women in the Judiciary. The sub-categories which saw the most deterioration were Workplace Gender Equality, Human Rights Violations and Political Violence.

Screenshot of the report showing Seychelles' performance in the sub-categories assessed. (Ibrahim Index of African Governance 2016) Photo License: CC-BY

Seychelles extends invitation to Mo Ibrahim Foundation

In a statement on Wednesday, the Foreign Affairs Ministry expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the 2016 assessment while highlighting data gaps, concern also raised in 2015.

“Seychelles is still of the view that further analysis and proper data collection is essential to having a truly credible and indicative report. As such, the Government has extended an invitation to representatives of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation to visit Seychelles in order to have a better appreciation of the local context,” reads the statement.

The Foreign Affairs and Transport Minister Joel Morgan described the assessment as “a positive step which reflects Seychelles' overall commitment to people-centred development and the ideals of  good governance, democracy and rule of law.”

Morgan has also indicated the government’s commitment “to continue along its development trajectory to better the lives of its people and would continuously strive to address key aspects of the governance indicators as set out by the Ibrahim Index.”

Assessing Africa’s progress over the last 10 years

The 2016 index is the 10th and most comprehensive edition. It assessed each of Africa’s 54 countries against 95 indicators drawn from 34 independent sources. The index is the brainchild of African telecommunications entrepreneur and billionaire Mo Ibrahim. Overall the survey paints a picture of a continent struggling with itself, particularly in the category of safety and rule of law.

According to the foundation, almost two-thirds of African citizens live in a country in which safety and rule of law deteriorated in the last 10 years. Six of the ten highest-scoring countries in this year’s human rights category have deteriorated over the past decade, and freedom of expression has also taken a severe beating in about two-thirds of African nations.

The Ibrahim Foundation also offers a cash prize to African leaders who peacefully and voluntarily step down within two terms. So far in the 10 years of the foundation’s existence, the prize has only been awarded five times.

Mo Ibrahim himself, however, remains optimistic that Africa will make it through the troubling times. “The improvement in overall governance in Africa over the last decade reflects a positive trend in a majority of countries and for over two-thirds of the continent’s citizens,” he said in the report’s statement, adding that “no success, no progress can be sustained without constant commitment and effort.”

“As our Index reveals, the decline in safety and rule of law is the biggest issue facing the continent today. Sound governance and wise leadership are fundamental to tackling this challenge, sustaining recent progress and ensuring that Africa’s future is bright.”