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Africa Has Become 'Less Safe, Secure and Democratic' in Past Decade, Report Finds (theguardian.com) 84

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
Africa is less safe, secure and democratic than a decade ago, with insecurity holding back progress in health, education and economic opportunities, according to an assessment of the continent. From a report: The Ibrahim index of African governance, which examines how well governments have delivered on policies and services, including security, health, education, rights and democratic participation, said Covid had contributed to the stalling of progress over the past three years.

Mo Ibrahim, a Sudan-born businessman who launched the index in 2007, said economic opportunities and human development had improved "quite a lot" across Africa over the past 10 years. "But on the other hand, we see other forces pulling us back. The security and safety of our people is deteriorating," he said. Ibrahim said he was concerned the climate crisis would lead to more conflict over resources, as already seen in parts of Nigeria, Darfur and the Sahel, and worried about the impact of the war in Ukraine on development indicators across the continent.
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Africa Has Become 'Less Safe, Secure and Democratic' in Past Decade, Report Finds More

Africa Has Become 'Less Safe, Secure and Democratic' in Past Decade, Report Finds

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  • Let's send billions more in IMF and world bank loans that they can't repay and that the people will never see. This problem should be fixed in literally minutes. Let's also send $100,000,000,000 in "climate change aid" so that they can convert from wood fires to solar and wind energy.
    • It's the same game as the bankters in the developed world play. They do not want debt paid off. They want their monthly residual and will gladly have you default so they can roll the debt into more debt and pay it off over a longer period of time.

  • this is all corruption corruption corruption

    African countries are rich in natural resources of all sorts, not just mineral wealth.

    but the few siphon off the riches, and even though they could, do nothing for their citizens.

    sociopaths rule everywhere it seems.

    I would be interested in reading something that examines corruption and whether you can ever get rid of it. it seems like a hole you can never climb out of.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by skam240 ( 789197 )

      Zelensky is currently on a big anti corruption drive in Ukraine https://www.bbc.com/news/world... [bbc.com] , it will be curious to see if his changes will result in meaningful long term change as prior to the war Ukraine was one of the most corrupt countries in Europe.

      • Re: (Score:1, Interesting)

        by geekmux ( 1040042 )

        Zelensky is currently on a big anti corruption drive in Ukraine https://www.bbc.com/news/world... [bbc.com] , it will be curious to see if his changes will result in meaningful long term change as prior to the war Ukraine was one of the most corrupt countries in Europe.

        Why does Ukraine running anti-corruption campaigns sound a lot like the hairband junkies from the 80s who would do Just Say No anti-drug commercials in order to finance their drug addiction.

        Zelensky was an actor before he became a politician. Both jobs are quite compatible for obvious reasons.

        • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

          by ArchieBunker ( 132337 )

          Zelensky is also Jewish, but Russia invaded because apparently Ukraine had a nazi problem?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by skam240 ( 789197 )

          Or instead of being a pessimist we could wait to see the end result and hope for the best.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by DarkOx ( 621550 )

            Was that your opinion about leaders like Ahmed Abdel Hadi Chalabi?

            Right - optimism is only for when its 'your guy' shoveling billions of American dollars at dubious foreign leadership..

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by skam240 ( 789197 )

              Please explain to me how aid to Iraq somehow means we shouldn't be supporting Ukraine.

              Also, given Zelensky is obviously following through on his anti corruption pledge that he was elected on I'm not sure how you make the "dubious foreign leadership" claim stick to him.

              • Also, given Zelensky is obviously following through on his anti corruption pledge that he was elected on I'm not sure how you make the "dubious foreign leadership" claim stick to him.

                Uh huh. You know what wars are fucking great for?

                Laundering money.

                I'll believe that whole anti-corruption pledge when the rest of a planet starts to notice a chance in the addicts behavior. Until then, it's a promise to get clean again. And he swears this time will be different. It's nothing like before when a cokehead son was laundering for a corrupt VP coincidentally in the same country. Honest.

                Audit the living FUCK out of every dollar. When the auditors actually live to present a report, then I'l

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by skam240 ( 789197 )

                  I'll believe that whole anti-corruption pledge when the rest of a planet starts to notice a chance in the addicts behavior. Until then, it's a promise to get clean again. And he swears this time will be different. It's nothing like before when a cokehead son was laundering for a corrupt VP coincidentally in the same country. Honest.

                  A corrupt government or not the Ukrainians have every right to their own country. Would you be happy if the democracy you lived in was over run by an authoritarian foreign neighbor even if your country had problems with corruption? Of course you wouldnt.

            • Sounds like he was a stooge installed by the CIA and it went bad.

          • Or instead of being a pessimist we could wait to see the end result and hope for the best.

            If you're speaking as a foreigner, it must be nice.

            If you're speaking as an American, how much more would you like to pay for, taxpayer? Is a trillion enough for "little" Ukraine, or should we make it two? I mean fuck, who's counting? The Government certainly isn't.

            Looking across thousands of years of human history, there isn't anything left to be pessimistic about when it comes to obscene greed. There is only the reality of it.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Ukraine was one of the most corrupt countries in Europe.

        It is, but FoxNews always says "one of the most", instead saying "second most", because that would lead to the obvious question, "What's the most corrupt country in Europe?" The answer being Russia.

      • You make it sound like Russia was right for invading Ukraine. Look it's fine because they were corrupt.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by skam240 ( 789197 )

          Just stating a well known fact. Just because their country is more corrupt then it should be doesn't mean Ukrainians don't deserve their own country with their own free elections (unlike Russia)

          I am in fact an avid supporter of our Ukraine aid and you can find multiple posts by me debunking nonsense anti Ukraine posts. Never the less it is a fact that Ukraine has a corruption problem and said problem could seriously hamper their rebuilding effort when this war is over so I hope Zelensky is as good as fighti

          • I hope Zelensky is as good as fighting corruption as he is at running a war time country as those folks are going to need just as strong of a leader while rebuilding their country.

            That makes it sound like you're putting your hopes in benevolent dictatorship.

            No matter how great Zelensky shows himself to be during this war for independence, what needs to happen afterwards is a peaceful transition of power to a successor chosen in a fair election and whose powers are limited by the rule of law.

            • Comment removed based on user account deletion

              • Re: (Score:1)

                by DarkOx ( 621550 )

                He won an election, that was almost certainly aided by CIA tampering. A few Russian backed internet trolls spent what amounted to a few $100K posting some anti-HRC online and half of not just our public but our government threw a massive fit, for 2+ years.

                Every criticism of Trump's legitimacy applies to Zelensky and then some.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by skam240 ( 789197 )

                  He won an election, that was almost certainly aided by CIA tampering.

                  Oh great, so you must have some sort of supporting evidence for this belief? Or are you just sporting your hardon for anti Ukraine rhetoric here as is your habit.

              • I didn't say he came to office unfairly. I also wouldn't call him a dictator, although the distinction is almost moot point during wartime.

                But the last great test of a victorious wartime leader is how he steps down.

                If Zelensky leads Ukraine to victory he will have the nation in the palm of his hand, and could win elections (even fair ones!) for decades. That's very risky and usually leads to a Robert Mugabe type outcome.

            • Re: (Score:3)

              by skam240 ( 789197 )

              That makes it sound like you're putting your hopes in benevolent dictatorship.

              Why is that a worry? Ukraine has a two term limit on its presidency and Zelesky has only served one and if he wins this war for them he's likely to be re-elected.

              No matter how great Zelensky shows himself to be during this war for independence, what needs to happen afterwards is a peaceful transition of power to a successor chosen in a fair election and whose powers are limited by the rule of law.

              Okay.... you seem to be doubting this will happen and I have no idea why.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by DarkOx ( 621550 )

            Great now once you fill in the gap between what they deserve and where our obligation to purchase it for them comes from I'll think about supporting this bullshit war of choice. Till then I am voting for anyone who promises to stop mortgaging our children futures to fight a war we have no real national interest in or at the very least far more to lose than we have to gain.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by skam240 ( 789197 )

              Great now once you fill in the gap between what they deserve and where our obligation to purchase it for them comes from I'll think about supporting this bullshit war of choice.

              We have no obligations that we dont make for ourselves in this.

              Till then I am voting for anyone who promises to stop mortgaging our children futures to fight a war we have no real national interest in or at the very least far more to lose than we have to gain.

              And that's just fine. Meanwhile I will continue to vote for those that think we should support fellow democracies so that others in other countries are free to voice unpopular opinions as you have done here.

            • Great now once you fill in the gap between what they deserve and where our obligation to purchase it for them comes from I'll think about supporting this bullshit war of choice.

              How did you feel about Iraq and Afghanistan?

      • Ukraine had been changing from before the war as well. Trump didn't believe it, because Putin told him otherwise, but it was changing. Zelensky was famous for his TV show which mocks the corruption and oligarchs. Zelensky was the anti-oligarch vote essentially. But it's a long process from kicking out the Putin puppet to getting a government that people can start to trust again.

        But you'll never convince the pro-Russian apologists of this.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by skam240 ( 789197 )

          If Zelensky is half as good at fighting corruption as he is running a war time country he should be able to initiate meaningful change in terms of corruption. I'm hoping for a win for him on this.

    • Re:how do you fix endemic corruption (Score:5, Insightful)

      by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Thursday January 26, 2023 @01:44PM (#63242757) Journal

      The US had serious corruption problems in the 1800s, that extended through the 1960s and 1970s. (Some might say there is still a corruption problem, but it's much smaller). The US got rid of most of the problems with many years of hard work fighting it. Voters wanted to get rid of it.

      The main thing to notice might be that the few are the ones who benefit from corruption, and most people dislike it. So with stability and democracy, corruption goes away naturally although over generations.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by ebh ( 116526 )

        Our corruption problem has been reduced by legalizing what used to be illegal corruption.

      • The US had serious corruption problems in the 1800s, that extended through the 1960s and 1970s. (Some might say there is still a corruption problem, but it's much smaller). The US got rid of most of the problems with many years of hard work fighting it. Voters wanted to get rid of it.

        The main thing to notice might be that the few are the ones who benefit from corruption, and most people dislike it. So with stability and democracy, corruption goes away naturally although over generations.

        If you believe any of that you're delusional. Corruption has just gotten better at convincing you it isn't happening. Doesn't matter left, right, center.

        • Oh look, you are a person who doesn't know history trying to explain what happened. Open a history book, ignoramus.

      • The US had serious corruption problems in the 1800s, that extended through the 1960s and 1970s. (Some might say there is still a corruption problem, but it's much smaller). The US got rid of most of the problems with many years of hard work fighting it. Voters wanted to get rid of it.

        By legalizing it?

      • but only at the State & National gov't level. What we don't have is your postman stealing your mail. We do have cops robbing people blind, but they're careful to target vulnerable people who can't fight back.

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Tablizer ( 95088 )

        > The US had serious corruption problems in the 1800s, that extended through the 1960s and 1970s...The US got rid of most of the problems...

        The US slimebags don't have to do underground "corruption" anymore, the GOP Court made direct bribery of US politicians mostly legal under the guise of "free speech". Yes, money does talk. It may not be corruption from a legal definition, but still is from a practical one. Politicians can be legally bought. Sick!

        • Re:how do you fix endemic corruption (Score:5, Interesting)

          by alvinrod ( 889928 ) on Thursday January 26, 2023 @05:48PM (#63243433)
          Ive always found this argument tired and fundamentally flawed. At the end of the day it's the voters who decide and it doesn't matter how much money some candidate gets or spends if they don't resonate with the voters to some degree.

          All the court ruled is that anyone is generally free to throw away as much money as they care to in order to influence public policy. A corporation is just a group of people as much as a union, congregation, or any other collective that has some loose connection is.

          It also misses the core problem that if the it's worth spending tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to lobby the government all it really means is the government has too much power. Perhaps you want it to have all of that power to do the things you wish, but remember that only gives people you vehemently disagree with a CES to the power to do what they want.

          Nobody is spending money lobbying me for anything because they realize that there's not much of a return on that investment. Strip politicians of their power to effect our lives to the extent they can and no one will bother trying to buy them either.

          • Re: (Score:1)

            by Tablizer ( 95088 )

            > At the end of the day it's the voters who decide and it doesn't matter how much money some candidate gets or spends if they don't resonate with the voters to some degree.

            But the money has great influence regardless. Voters on average are either not fully informed, or the few viable candidates available are all under money'd thumbs such that it's a de-facto choice between Bribed Candidate A and Bribed Candidate B.

            > It also misses the core problem that if the it's worth spending tens or hundreds of

      • I don't know why you think the 1800s corruption extended in to the 20th century. The most noteworthy aspect of it, aka The Spoils System [wikipedia.org] at the Federal level ended in the 19th century, and that article has the answer to our present distress as well: The Civil Service reform movement. ie, people cared enough about it, wrote enough about it, and campaigned and organized around that specific issue. So the fact that we're at least talking about it is a good start. We even have a movement to stop Congresspe

        • I extend it into the 1960s because the Chicago political machine under Richard Daley was probably the last great political machine in the US. In that era they also switched from a "political patronage" system for assigning contracts to a "lowest bidder" type system, a process which took decades.

          • Ah, I suppose there were things like that at the local level that spanned the time period. The Boss Hogg character from Dukes of Hazard was also based on some real life kinds of things like that in the South.

            And of course we can't stop fighting at the local level either, because it's always ongoing. If you're not familiar with it, check out The city of Bell [wikipedia.org], California.

    • and now China too. Africa has had their resources plundered by foreign nations for centuries. They lack the military might to prevent it. They've never been able to get on their feet. South America & Mexico have similar problems but so much manufacturing work got moved there they'd built up enough economic strength they can defend themselves now, with the last rounds of meddling by the US failing.

      It's a hold over from the worst aspects of imperialism. But if you bring that up everyone flags you as a

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by DarkOx ( 621550 )

        Dude - without the benefits of past imperialism, Africa would still be in the stone age. The fact most of it is still a shit show 80 years past the end of western colonialism suggests Africa's problems are more likely in the parts of the culture the western powers failed to eradicate.

    • Much of the corruption in African countries is fuelled by Western companies.
      Shooting a few petroleum or mining executives from Amsterdam or London would help.

    • Romania has been doing a lot on anti-corruption. They set up a new agency to get up to EU levels about 20 years ago and it's been going pretty serious against even reasonably high-level officials. As always there's no magic solution but it seems like it's been working pretty well for them:

      https://antifraud-knowledge-ce... [europa.eu]

      As someone from another Eastern EU member, the petty corruption that plagued all post-soviet countries is mostly gone. It used to be expected to give the cops ten bucks to let you go for an

  • China has been making lots of "belts and suspenders" investments in Africa. Sure a lot of it goes into corruption, but that's par for the course to ensure China gets it way at the UN and other things. But it also helps in ensuring China gets priority access to the natural resources those countries have.

    And he countries will be forever indebted to China for those infrastructure upgrades which are generally done in such a way that they're way more than what the country needs (do you really need a 6 lane highw

  • Less safe? (Score:2, Informative)

    by gosso920 ( 6330142 )
    Thanks, islam.

  • Wagner Group Shenanigans (Score:4, Informative)

    by laughingskeptic ( 1004414 ) on Thursday January 26, 2023 @03:56PM (#63243123)
    Russia's Africa Colonization efforts via Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner Group mercenaries probably hasn't helped:

    2022-02-01 Coup attempt Guinea-Bissau
    2022-01-24 Successful coup Burkia Faso
    2021-10-25 Successful coup Sudan (after failure on 2021-09-21)
    2021-09-05 Successful coup Guinea
    2021-05-24 Successful coup Mali

  • Wealth Inequality affects affordable housing and transportation. Infrastructure disinvestment creates systemic problems, and Oligopolistic consolidation of corporate power has created massive supply chain disruptions. Deliberate disinformation campaigns create societal and political instability and the rise of Fascism. The rise in violent crime is also an aspect of these conditions.

  • More msmash space filler garbage of zero use to the Slashdot audience.

  • This is a transient problem. Once China rules Africa, peace will reign.

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