President Ian Khama is ranked as the second best performing head of state in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to an opinion survey conducted by Gallup released on Monday.
President Khama who snubbed attending the ongoing African Leaders summit and has been in power for five years was ranked second in the poll with an 81 percent approval rating. Mali’s Ibrahim Boubacar Keita who is in his first term scored 86 percent, ranking as the first best performing head of state while President Uhuru Kenyatta got an approval rating of 78 percent.
The survey however shows no correlation between the approval rating and the number of years spent in office as President Yoweri Museveni who has been in power for 27 years, is ranked ninth most approved administrator.
The survey further found that presidents got higher approval from electorates that are satisfied with their level of income. The report established that better-off residents may be benefiting, either directly or indirectly, from a certain economic climate nurtured by the leader and his or her policies.
The report also found that the older citizens are more likely than younger one to approve of their respective president’s performance.
In many countries surveyed, age appears to be related to job performance ratings, with older residents typically more likely than younger ones to give high marks to their respective presidents. Age plays an important role in many issues the continent faces, and young Africans — those aged 15 to 24 — are the fastest-growing age group. In fact, they represent 20% of the continent’s total population and 60% of its unemployed residents. As such, it will be important for current leaders to address the issues of all of their constituents to ensure the sustainable development of African countries for generations to come.
Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe who has ruled the country for 26 years scored a 44 percent rating making him the 21st most performing president, while Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo with a rating of 24 and having been in power 12 years scored the lowest of all the presidents. Gallup says the results are based on face-to-face interviews with at least 1,000 adults, aged 15 and older, conducted in 2013 in Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile Presidential spokesperson Jeff Ramsay confirmed that President Khama was not part of the head of states who are attending the ongoing African Leaders summit at the invitation of US President Barak Obama. While he said he is yet to confirm with other relevant authorities, Ramsay said he was not aware of any arrangement in place  for a government official to represent the country at the summit.
Obama snubbed President Robert Mugabe, inviting leaders of nearly 50 African countries to the landmark US-Africa summit seeking to widen trade, development and security ties between America and Africa.
The United States announced that Obama included all African Heads of State or governments, with the exception of those who are not in good standing with the U.S. or under African Union suspension. Botswana was one of the countries that was invited but did not honour the invitation.
Egypt, Sudan and Madagascar are the other countries that have not been invited.
