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A Sudanese billionaire is offering a $5 million US prize to an African leader who not only improves the standard of living among ordinary citizens but also leaves office after his or her term has expired.
Mo Ibrahim, founder of an African cellphone network, defended his prize against public criticism that his money could go directly to poverty-stricken Africans. Without good governance, he argued, there is no way to ensure it is distributed fairly and effectively.
"I'm not squandering money," Ibrahim told the Associated Press.
He sold his cellphone network, Celtel International, last year for $3.3 billion. His prize is the largest of its kind, richer even than the $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize.
"If you write a good novel, or a chemistry paper, you win the Nobel Prize," Ibrahim told AP. "If we have a leader take four or five million people out of poverty, this is a much greater achievement."
Ibrahim said he'd like to award the prize annually, but if no leader meets the criteria, no prize will be given. He expects to give out the first award late next year.
Judges of the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership will rate 53 African countries each year on progress in economy, health, education and security. They will use criteria developed by Robert Rotberg, a professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government Policy.
Each successful candidate will receive $5 million, spread over 10 years, after leaving office. Once the money runs out, prize winners will receive another $200,000 annually until they die.
Wants governance to improve 'radically'
Ibrahim wrote an opinion piece, published in The Guardian newspaper last week, in which he said he was trying in part to address reluctance to give up power on a continent where military dictators and presidents for life have held sway for too long.
"A situation in which leaders face three choices — relative poverty, term extension, or corruption — is not conducive to good governance," Ibrahim wrote." And the continent's problems will not be solved unless governance improves radically."
Board members of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation for African Development include Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and UN high commissioner for human rights, and Salim Salim, a Tanzanian diplomat and former leader of the Organization of African Unity.
"The prize is not intended for the thief or the corrupt, it is for those that serve their people," Salim told the Associated Press.
The statement announcing the prize on Thursday included endorsements from former South African President Nelson Mandela, who served one term, and African Union chief Alpha Konare, who stepped down as Mali's president after completing the constitutionally allowed two terms.
Mo Ibrahim, founder of an African cellphone network, defended his prize against public criticism that his money could go directly to poverty-stricken Africans. Without good governance, he argued, there is no way to ensure it is distributed fairly and effectively.
"I'm not squandering money," Ibrahim told the Associated Press.
He sold his cellphone network, Celtel International, last year for $3.3 billion. His prize is the largest of its kind, richer even than the $1.4 million Nobel Peace Prize.
"If you write a good novel, or a chemistry paper, you win the Nobel Prize," Ibrahim told AP. "If we have a leader take four or five million people out of poverty, this is a much greater achievement."
Ibrahim said he'd like to award the prize annually, but if no leader meets the criteria, no prize will be given. He expects to give out the first award late next year.
Judges of the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership will rate 53 African countries each year on progress in economy, health, education and security. They will use criteria developed by Robert Rotberg, a professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government Policy.
Each successful candidate will receive $5 million, spread over 10 years, after leaving office. Once the money runs out, prize winners will receive another $200,000 annually until they die.
Wants governance to improve 'radically'
Ibrahim wrote an opinion piece, published in The Guardian newspaper last week, in which he said he was trying in part to address reluctance to give up power on a continent where military dictators and presidents for life have held sway for too long.
"A situation in which leaders face three choices — relative poverty, term extension, or corruption — is not conducive to good governance," Ibrahim wrote." And the continent's problems will not be solved unless governance improves radically."
Board members of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation for African Development include Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and UN high commissioner for human rights, and Salim Salim, a Tanzanian diplomat and former leader of the Organization of African Unity.
"The prize is not intended for the thief or the corrupt, it is for those that serve their people," Salim told the Associated Press.
The statement announcing the prize on Thursday included endorsements from former South African President Nelson Mandela, who served one term, and African Union chief Alpha Konare, who stepped down as Mali's president after completing the constitutionally allowed two terms.
This is virtually identical to something I'd been thinking about for a while now. It's not often you see one of your zanier ideas actually being put into practice by somebody else who had both the idea and the means to do it.
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