The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has announced that there is no winner for the 2016 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. This means that for
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has announced that there is no winner for the 2016 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. This means that for the second year running, no African leader has been considered good enough to be bestowed with the prestigious award since former Namibian President, Hifikepunye Pohamba won it in 2014. The announcement followed a meeting of the independent Prize Committee, chaired by Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s Board meeting over the weekend.
“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, a former OAU Secretary General, said.
Ex-Namibian leader Pohamba was the last recipient of the award. Since the commencement of the award in 2007, the Ibrahim Prize has been awarded four times, with President Pedro Pires of Cabo Verde, the 2011 winner, joining President Festus Mogae of Botswana (2008), President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique (2007) and the aforementioned Pohamba. Former South African President and freedom fighter Nelson Mandela was the inaugural Honorary Laureate in 2007.
The Foundation also announced that it’ll be hosting its flagship event, the Ibrahim Governance Weekend, in Marrakech, Morocco, from 7 to 9 April 2017, where a high-profile discussion titled “A Conversation on Leadership”, will be held.
