No winner yet again for Ibrahim Africa Leadership Prize

There is no winner for the 2016 Ibrahim Prize for the Achievement in African Leadership, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation announced today, February 28, 2017.

The announcement was made following a meeting of the independent Prize Committee, chaired by Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s Board last weekend, a press release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com, said.

“As I emphasise each year, a very high bar was deliberately set when the Prize was launched in 2006. We recognise and applaud the important contributions that many African leaders have made to change their countries for the better. But the Prize is intended to highlight and celebrate truly exceptional leadership, which is uncommon by its very definition. After careful consideration, the Committee has decided not to award the Prize in 2016,” Dr. Salim said.

Candidates for the Ibrahim Prize are all former African executive Heads of State or Government who have left their office during the last three calendar years (2014-2016), having been democratically elected and served their constitutionally mandated term, it noted.

Since being launched in 2006, the Ibrahim Prize has been awarded four times. The previous Laureates are President Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia (2014), President Pedro Pires of Cabo Verde (2011), President Festus Mogae of Botswana (2008), and President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique (2007).  Nelson Mandela was the inaugural Honorary Laureate in 2007, it also said.

The Foundation looks forward to hosting its flagship event, the Ibrahim Governance Weekend, in Marrakech, Morocco from 7 to 9 April 2017. The event will open on the Friday evening with a high-profile discussion titled “A Conversation on Leadership”, looking at the challenges of global leadership in the 21st century.

By Pamela Ofori-Boateng

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