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Former Mozambique President Receives World’s Largest Prize

It was almost a year ago that Sudanese billionaire Dr. Mo Ibrahim announced the establishment of his eponymous foundation, which promised a $5 million award for the former African head of state who best embodies the principles of sound governance. On October 22, 2007, Ibrahim made good on that promise: Former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano will receive $500,000 a year for the next ten years and $200,000 a year for life thereafter.

The Foundation, a home-grown initiative that offers a clever solution to a systemic flaw, instead of applying mere subsistence relief, is novel on a number of levels. The award itself is unprecedented in size, over three and a half times as large as the $1.5 million Nobel Peace prize.

The background of the foundation is likewise unprecedented. “This is an African initiative celebrating the successes of new African leadership,” Nelson Mandela, the former South African president, said in one of several video-cast messages of support [1] . Ibrahim was an inspirational figure prior to the launch of the charity:  His company, Celtel International, pioneered the field of mobile communication in Africa, bringing cellular service to 15 countries and millions of subscribers. The creation of such a strong telecommunications infrastructure has ushered in a period of unprecedented economic growth across Sub-Saharan Africa  It is through the sale of Celtel to a Kuwait-based MTC Communications in 2005, that he is able to finance and oversee such a venture. The supporting members of the Foundational board and the prize committee are no less illustrious: both former President of Ireland Mary Robinson and Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan were active participants in the decision to name Mr. Chissano.

The criteria for selecting candidates are innovative as well.  One of the foundation’s accomplishments has been the development of the Index of African Governance[2]  by Dr. Robert Rotberg, of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Dr. Rotberg and his team evaluated 48 Sub-Saharan countries, on 58 individual measures of political goods. Some are easily quantifiable, such as infant mortality rates and number of cell phone users, while others were less so, such as the participation of main opposition candidates in elections.  The political goods are divided into five categories, including Safety and Security; Rule of Law, Transparency, and Corruption; Participation and Human Rights; Sustainable Economic Opportunity; and Human Development. The result is a quantifiable set of rankings for the judgment of leadership in Africa.

There have been numerous criticisms of this novel approach to dispersal of funds. Many allege that funds of that size should be given directly to citizens in need. Mr. Ibrahim parries such notions by pointing out that without sound governance there is no assurance that the funds actually reach those in need. In an interview given upon the inception of his foundation, Ibrahim further explained the motivation for his unconventional proposal.  Mr. Ibrahim does see his initiative only as a department of pensions. “It is a reward for the leaders who really managed to deliver to their people. Number two, the objective is to have a debate about governance, which we are having right now.  The third is to enable retiring presidents not to go to pension, sitting by the swimming pool, but to engage in the civil society and to really play the role.  There is life after office. We need to enable people to have life after office, life in service of civil society. That's very important. “The objective is to have a debate about governance... Without the prize we would not have talked about it.”  [3]

In an interview with the New York Times, Ibrahim offered an explanation for the lack of democratic governance in Africa: “Your leaders here become rich after they leave office….What life is there for our people after office? Some of our leaders cannot even afford to rent an apartment in their own capitals,” he said  [4].

Mr. Chissano stands as the exception to this rule. He was chosen because of his track record during his time in office. Over the course of his 18 year political career he took Mozambique from a Marxist-Leninist regime to a democracy, and brokered peace between his own Frelimo Party and the opposing Renamo Party, effectively ending a 16 year civil war and paving the way for the country’s first democratic election in 1994. His decision to step down as President and abstain from seeking a third term contributed to the high praise he garnered from the foundation, as have his ex-officio activities.

The novel approach adopted by Mr. Ibrahim and his foundation is one in line with that of the mission and principles of the IIJD. By addressing the principles that constitute good governance and democracy at the presidential level, and providing incentives that comply with these principles, the Ibrahim Foundation has created an innovative way to incite significant and lasting reform. The next step is for government institutions to establish a retirement package for their former heads of state, to guarantee that they govern freely and transparently throughout their term in office.

[1] Prize to Honor Heroes in African Democracy 

[2]   Mo Ibrahim Index of Governance.

[3] Africa: Celtel Founder Explains Reasons for Leadership Prize.

[4] New York Times, ibid.