It was more than fitting that this past week the Mo Ibrahim Foundation announced that there will be no winner this year for its multi-million dollar controversial prize.
With $5 million over ten years and a further $200 000 for the rest of the recipient’s life, the Mo Ibrahim prize is arguably the largest financial give away on earth.
While we celebrate that our own Festus Mogae has been one of the beneficiaries of the largesse, it nonetheless still remains important that the whole prize is put into context.
We learn the prize is a reward for good governance and a sustained commitment to improving the welfare of the people under one’s leadership.
Mogae’s success in his passionate fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic that threatened to annihilate Batswana is legendary.
Many years before his ten year term expired, Mogae told anybody who would listen that he would not attempt to increase his stay by one day; quite unheard of in a sub-region controlled and run by strong men who want to stay in power for ever.
Robert Mugabe has been in power since I was at primary school. Zimbabwe has not known any other leader.
His recent power sharing with his nemesis, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, has proved a hoax.
Thus against such terrible possible contenders it is difficult to contest Mogae’s eligibility.
In coming up with the prize, apparently Mo Ibrahim, the Sudanese born billionaire who made his money in telecommunications, wants to discourage other African leaders from clinging to power and killing their people as is the case in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
In short, the prize is a way of rewarding African leaders for good behaviour during their stay at the top.
There is no questioning that Mo Ibrahim has a lot of money he wants to spend, but still there are a few questions and issues that have to be answered.
It’s kind of obscene to me to give so much money to just one person in a continent besotted with so many problems.
How does Mo Ibrahim and his Foundation, which incidentally includes our own Sir Ketumile Masire, justify giving so much money to a former Head of State from a continent that still boasts of the largest number of refugees and the largest number of people dying from HIV/AIDS because they cannot get treatment?
Do African leaders have to be bribed with money so that they have a reason to live up to the moral values expected of them?
There is no doubting that Africa has always been a seedbed of red-eyed dictators, but do we have to appease and placate them with money so that they start behaving properly?
However noble and well meaning Ibrahim’s motives, do African leaders have to be paid and enticed with the lure of prize money for them to start behaving with integrity and honesty in their interactions with the people they lead?
Africa has been through a lot of really bad things, but it is important that in trying to put those behind us we do not portray ourselves like fools!
To call this a promotion of democracy is an insult to our intelligence.
Why should African leaders be paid for doing what other leaders across the world do without an expectation of extra reward?
Why should Africa be the only continent where leaders are enticed with money not to kill their people?
Why should Africa be the only continent where leaders should expect an abnormally generous prize for upholding the rule of law?
Is this an admission that African leaders are so corrupt and venal so much so that for them to do anything good for their people backloads of money have to be promised as rewards?
I guess not!
What we need is not cash for the leaders but rather setting ourselves values that will guard against impunity and arbitrariness that are so much a part of our governance structures.
Of course, living up to those values will not be easy, but we certainly will not need millions of Mo Ibrahim’s money to achieve the standards.
