SA one of least safe places in Africa

(Article at www.iol.co.za by Hans Pienaar)

Independent Foreign Service

South Africa has consistently under-performed in fighting crime, and its insensitive approach is exemplified by Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi remaining in his post despite a strong prima facie case of corruption against him.

This was academic and author Mamphele Ramphela’s response to South Africa’s extraordinarily low score in the safety and security category in this year’s Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance. In that category, it ranked 42nd out of the 48 sub-Saharan countries.

The index, compiled by a team led by Professor Robert Rotberg of Harvard University, was released in Addis Ababa on Monday. Ramphela is on the board of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

South Africa ranked fifth overall, and third in two of the five categories.

But in the “safety and security” category, South Africa scored 61,1, and only six formerly war-torn countries scored lower. Ramphela said crime was under-reported, which meant the situation was probably worse than the 61,1 score.

She said law enforcement authorities were weak. “We have never managed to get on top of the crisis. If police files keep disappearing and cases don’t make it to court, then you have a problem.”

The culture of lawlessness was rampant, she said. The police were deeply corrupt - “no other country would tolerate having a police chief like Selebi remaining in his position”.

Only Somalia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Liberia and Central African Republic, which all are or have been in a state of war, scored lower on safety and security. South Africa’s scorecard is similar to those of Kenya and Burundi.

The figures cover the years between 2002 and 2006, and so would not include the xenophobic outbursts and what many perceive to be a worsening crime situation since then.

South Africa’s position overall remains the same as last year.

The index assesses African governments against 57 criteria. Now in its second year, it’s an initiative of Sudanese cellphone mogul Mo Ibrahim.

Mauritius again emerged as the clear winner, scoring 85,1 points. It was followed by the Seychelles (79,8), Cape Verde (74,7) and Botswana (74,0). South Africa’s highest score in the five categories is in “participation and human rights”, (86,3) but interestingly it stays in fifth place, beaten by Sao Tome and Principe (93,8), Mauritius (92,2), Liberia (87,9) and Botswana (87,4).

South Africa’s second highest score (78,1) is in the category “rule of law, transparency and corruption”.

Covering the time before the crisis surrounding ANC President Jacob Zuma, during which there were several stand-offs between the courts and politicians, the score will probably be lower next year, and bring South Africa down overall.

Going by rankings, South Africa did the best in the category “human development”, posting 68,7. It was beaten by Mauritius (89,9) and the Seychelles (88,4).

Somalia scored lowest overall on 18,9, belying claims by the Department of Foreign Affairs that Somali refugees could safely return to Mogadishu, the capital. The country’s safety score is 38,8, down from 46 in 2005.

Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe and Gabon posted scores of 100 in safety and security. Rwanda, scene of the 1994 genocide, posted 98,4.

Ibrahim said: “Obscured by many of the headlines of the past few months, the real story coming out of Africa is that governance performance across (many) African countries is improving.

“I hope that these results will be used as a tool by Africa’s citizens to hold their governments to account, and stimulate debate about the performance of those who govern in their name.”

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