The MI prize is the definition of wagging a stick in front of dying dogs instead of throwing it at the puppies nipping at your heels.
For the fourth time in five years, a prestigious multimillion-dollar prize offered annually to African leaders for good government went unawarded on Monday, renewing questions about the stringency of its rules, the paucity of candidates and the state of democracy on the continent.
The prize, endowed by Mo Ibrahim, a Sudan-born telecommunications billionaire, is intended to reward democratically elected African leaders who retire voluntarily at the conclusion of their mandated terms after displaying strong qualities of governance and leadership.
The prize is worth $5 million over the first 10 years, followed by a stipend of at least $200,000 a year.
via Again, No African Leader Wins Annual Good Governance Prize – NYTimes.com.
Wasted 5 years where a total of $25 million could have been invested in African innovators in start-up areas like education, health, telecommunications, hardware technology, open governance, and entrepreneurship. It is not enough for a continent of a billion, but it’d do more good than throwing $5 million at dying kleptocrats who’d spend the money in the French Riviera.
Other than that, it is an awesome prize.
