A
Bribe To Be Honest?
Prize offered to Africa's leaders
Mo Ibrahim wants to combat corruption in Africa
26th October 2006
A
$5m prize for Africa's most effective head of state is being launched by
one of the continent's top businessmen.
UK-based
mobile phone entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim - who was born in Egypt - is behind
the plan to rate governance in 53 African countries each year.
The
contest, launched in London, will award winning leaders $5m (£2.7m)
over 10 years when they leave office, plus $200,000 (£107,000) a year
for life.
"We
need to remove corruption and improve governance," Mr Ibrahim said.
'No life
after office'
Then the
continent would not need any aid, said Mr Ibrahim, who sold Cel Tel, his
pan-African mobile phone company, to MTC in Kuwait for $3.4bn (£1.8bn)
last year.
The Mo
Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership is being launched on
Thursday.
The
award will go to African heads of state who deliver security, health,
education and economic development to their constituents.
In an
interview with the Financial Times newspaper, Mr Ibrahim, 60, said
leaders had no life after office.
"Suddenly
all the mansions, cars, food, wine is withdrawn. Some find it difficult
to rent a house in the capital. That incites corruption; it incites
people to cling to power.
"The
prize will offer essentially good people, who may be wavering, the
chance to opt for the good life after office," said Mr Ibrahim.
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Africa analyst Martin Plaut said it would be the world's richest prize -
exceeding the $1.3m (£700,000) awarded by the Nobel Peace Prize.
It will
be available only to a president who democratically transfers power to
his successor.
Harvard
University will assess how well the president has served his or her
people while in office.
Nelson
Mandela, former US President Bill Clinton and UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan are among those who have welcomed the initiative.
Mr
Mandela described it as an example to the world. Mr Clinton said he
wished Mr Ibrahim and his foundation "much success in its important
work".
Differing
opinion
And Mr
Annan thanked the businessman for "establishing such a generous
prize as an incentive".
But not
everyone agrees.
Patrick
Smith, of specialist publication Africa Confidential, said: "The
people who know what to do and have done well are already doing it.
"And
the people who are doing badly and are killing their own people or
stealing state resources are going to carry on doing that."
Africa
has one of the world's richest concentrations of minerals and precious
metals, yet 300 million of its residents live on less than a dollar a
day.
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