Current: Jendayi Frazer is president and CEO of 50 Ventures LLC, a global policy leader and expert on African Affairs. She heads the Mo Ibrahim Leadership Fellowships Programme.
2009 to 2014: Professor at the Carnegie Mellon University in the US, and director of Carnegie Mellon’s Centre for International Policy and Innovation.
August 2005 to January 2009: Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.
2004: Ambassador to South Africa. She previously served as special assistant to the President and senior director for African Affairs at the National Security Council.
The head of Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s Leadership Fellowships Programme, Jendayi Frazer, talks to Fred Oluoch about governance in Africa.
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The Mo Ibrahim Index shows that eight of the 12 countries that registered a decline in overall governance over the past decade are showing no signs of turning things around. What are the challenges?
Governance is not a linear process, and so all countries go through periods of strong progress and sometimes decline.
The issue is to be able to look into the specifics of the country and the data, and figure out which areas are dragging it down within the different indices reflected in the Ibrahim Index. For example, we see that Angola’s overall governance score is brought down particularly in the subcategory the decline in civil society participation.
Are governance programmes like Mo Ibrahim having a positive impact in Africa?
Yes. The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) is the most comprehensive assessment of African governance there is. It incorporates findings across 100 indicators from over 36 separate research institutions.
With this tool, African citizens can view their country, region and continent and hold their leadership accountable for the delivery of results. Moreover, we get a more complete picture of governance, progress and challenges rather than relying on crisis-driven headline news.
In some years, the Mo Ibrahim Prize goes without a winner, what does that say about the standard of leadership in Africa?
Mo Ibrahim has often said that the prize is for exceptional leadership, not just good leadership, and that it is equally unlikely that anyone in Europe or even in other parts of the world would meet the standards to be awarded the prize.
Do you think the African Peer Review Mechanism in which countries assess each other on governance issues has had any impact in Africa?
Yes. It changes the normative framework for what leaders do because they have to think about the peer review. It creates a context in which they as peers look at each other and their performance. Having that standard is key to driving behaviour. It is not 100 per cent assessment tool but it creates a context. The more accountability we have at all levels, the better.
What is your general view about governance in Kenya?
Over the past ten years of the index, and especially in the last five, Kenya has improved in governance in all four categories and across the 14 subcategories.
This has meant that since 2012, Kenya’s average annual progress is the third best of Africa’s 54 countries. The recent election cycle was challenging but there was an affirmation that Kenya’s institutions were relied upon to settle vast political differences.
With the current political tension over disputed elections, which direction do you think Kenya is heading?
Interestingly, the Index shows that Kenya’s judicial independence and judicial processes have shown strong progress under the rule of law category, yet under participation there has been a slight decline in civil society engagement.
That is worrying and requires vigilance to ensure that the public continues to play its role in Kenya’s governance progress. Institutions are doing their job. Responsible civil society needs to be allowed to continue to do its job.
You were in the forefront of opposing the Kenyan cases at the ICC. Why did you take that position?
I took that position because the ICC was being used geo-strategically and politically, rather than as an institution for justice.
It is noteworthy that following conflict in countries like Cote d’Ivoire and Democratic Republic of Congo, the only people being taken to face justice at the ICC were the people who lose, when we know atrocities have occurred on many sides.
What’s necessary is to build the national judicial systems so that they can mete out justice that is seen as non-political and reflective of the rule of law.
The victims of the Kenyan case were surprised that you could take that position and yet they looked up to the US to end impunity in Africa?
The US cannot end impunity in Africa nor can any external power. Progress in governance within the countries is key to accountability and ending impunity.
Do you think ICC is a good instrument for discouraging international crimes in Africa?
No. Recent revelations from the leaked documents from the ICC clearly show how the institution is used strategically by powers outside of Africa.
