Mauritius ranked top in good governance in Africa

 

By show of hands, Somali lawmakers vote for the new Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon at parliament in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia , Oct. 17, 2012.The Prime Minister will be expected to appoint a new Council of Ministers.(Xinhua/ Faisal Isse)

The Mauritius island remains in Africa's top one in the good governance index which was released by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. A statement from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation issued Monday showed that Mauritius obtained a score of 83 points for the quality of governance in 2010-2011 and was ranked in position one among the 52 African countries that were surveyed by the Foundation this year.
In terms of the sub-categories, Mauritius scored the highest points in the category of individual safety, national security, business environment and social protection, while its worst performance was in gender equality where the island nation was ranked 7.
Countries such as Mauritius, Cape Verde, Botswana, Seychelles and South Africa which have consistently been ranked in top five position, achieved excellent performance in each of the four categories of economic development, human development, security and sovereignty as well as participation and human rights.
The Foundation further noted that just like in 2011, the Southern Africa region occupied the overall first position in terms of regional ranking in 2012.
Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia occupied the last three positions.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation index was launched in 2006 by the Sudanese-British billionaire Mo Ibrahim, to assess the progress made by African countries in various sectors.
The Foundation brings together university lecturers, representatives from the civil society, private sector members as well as representatives from the donor community to discuss issues of governance. (
Meanwhile the first forum on female entrepreneurship the Indian Ocean countries was opened on Wednesday in Antananarivo, Madagascar's capital, with a theme "Women Entrepreneurs' contribution to food security in the Indian Ocean region".
Sponsored by the Indian Ocean Commission, the forum is attended by around 200 businesswomen from the French ruled island La reunion, Mauritius, the Seychelles, the Comoros, Madagascar, Belgium, Cameroon and Nigeria, one of the organizers Sylvia Pages told Xinhua. "This three-day forum will have to address on the basis of a strategy covering the period 2013-2018, through an action plan. The financing of these actions requires the mobilization of governments, technical and financial partners," Pages said.
"This forum is aimed at strengthening economic exchanges in the Indian Ocean region, defining the line between female entrepreneurship and food security, strengthening regional platform and strengthening advocacy with governments and partners, " the organizer added.
Madagascar's Freign Minister Pierrot Rajaonarivelo made an opening speech, highlighting the importance of the contributions of women entrepreneurs in the process of economic development in the Indian Ocean region and the visibility of women entrepreneurs in the world. (Xinhua)