January is a time for reflection on the year gone by, whilst planning for the year ahead.
Africa saw some peaceful elections in 2015, including those in Nigeria and Tanzania. At the same time, other countries continued to battle the Ebola epidemic, and succeeded by the end of the year. In some countries economic growth remained impressive, whilst other economies were called upon to adapt to the fall in commodity prices.
Meanwhile, many citizens continued to suffer from insecurity and violence, or felt the impact of the global refugee and migration crisis, whilst others demonstrated that popular opposition might bring about the beginning of the end of coups in their country. Last year certainly confirmed the complexity and variety of Africa as a continent.
Building the momentum
2015 was also a crucial year for global agreements, with the new Sustainable Development Goals and the COP21 Agreement, which will have significant ramifications for Africa. Importantly, these agreements will be major drivers for a vital era of data-driven monitoring and measurement, something that is key for the work we do at the Foundation.
As we enter 2016, these global agreements have strengthened the need for a data revolution. The action now demanded needs to be tracked, measured and assessed on an on-going basis in order to avoid complacency. If 2015 was the year in which commitments were made, 2016 should be the year in which we start monitoring the implementation of those commitments. In the words of our Board member, Mary Robinson, after COP21: “we need to keep building this momentum”.
This is the stage at which leaders will show their mettle, by practically demonstrating their commitment to achieve the agreed goals. Governance and leadership will play a key role in implementation, with leaders proving not only their willingness to hit targets but their capacity to do so and to remain transparent about the process. We, and many other organisations, will be tracking and monitoring these achievements.
A busy year for the Foundation
2015 saw the launch of the ninth iteration of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) and a successful governance weekend in Accra, which included a Forum on African Urban Dynamics, as well as a celebration of our most recent Ibrahim Laureate, President Pohamba of Namibia. Earlier in the year, we were delighted to welcome Valerie Amos, Ngaire Woods, Donald Kaberuka, Pascal Lamy and Graça Machel to our Board.
2016 will mark the exciting milestone of our tenth anniversary. We will be announcing various ways in which we will recognise this anniversary throughout the year, so stay in touch with us via our website, Twitter and Facebook accounts to find out about our plans.
