Ignore Mo Ibrahim survey – Omane Boamah

Communications Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah has asked Ghanaians not to attach much importance to the latest Mo Ibrahim Index on Governance, indicating that it does not reflect the true picture on the ground.

“We do not need the [Mo Ibrahim] survey to actually know how we are faring as a nation. The reality is that Ghana is rising, Ghana is making significant progress. … If you are to look at the peace and stability that we enjoy…do you need a Mo Ibrahim index?” he questioned.

A summary of the report said that “even if Ghana and South Africa feature in the top ten performing countries in overall governance in 2015, they are also the eighth and tenth most deteriorated over the decade”.

Ghana retained the previous rank of 7th in the 2015 Mo Ibrahim Index but slipped on three of four indicators over the last 10 years.

The Index seeks to measure the performance of countries by assessing how countries provide the needs of citizens regarding their political, economic, and social desires.

The foundation, owned by Sudanese multi-millionaire businessman Mo Ibrahim revealed the latest rankings on Monday, October 3, rating Ghana 7th on overall governance. Even though Ghana scored 63.9 out of 100 for the year under review, the trend for the past decade saw a decline of 2.1.

According to the detailed report released by the foundation, Ghana recorded an increase in the participation and human rights indicator with a score of 72.1 and a rank of 4th out of 54 countries. A look at the trend for the past decade shows an increase of 0.1.

For sustainable economic opportunity, Ghana ranked 15th and scored 39.1 with the decade trend showing a decline of 4.2.

Under the human development category, Ghana ranked 11th, scoring 64.2. The country also recorded a decline of 1.6 over the past decade.

Ghana recorded 70.0 and ranked sixth in the area of safety and rule of law but recorded a decline of 2.6 for the past decade.

However, Dr Boamah did not agree with the findings as he explained that a true analysis with primary data will show different results.

For him, the country’s performance on governance had been positive in recent years and pointed out: “We do not need the Mo Ibrahim Index” to determine our performance.

Dr Boamah further entreated the foundation to “rely more on quantitative surveys”, adding: “If you are dealing with qualitative, the biases are in there, the subjectivities are in there.”

Even though he ranked the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) research above that by Mo Ibrahim Index, he said he will not “throw it away”.

“But I am just saying we must know exactly what the Mo Ibrahim survey is about”, he told Joy FM in an interview on Tuesday October 4.