A foundation set up to award a US$5 million annual prize for good governance in Africa has said there will be no winner this year because it could not find anyone to award it to.
The Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership is awarded only to democratically elected heads of state who have left office in the past three years. That requirement limits the pool of contenders, eliminating the continent�塜 long-standing leaders, some of whom have held on to power for decades.
In a snub to recent former presidents and heads of state in Africa, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation �� set up by the billionaire businessman and philanthropist �� said its prize committee considered some credible candidates, but could not select a winner.
A Sudanese-born former British Telecom engineer, Ibrahim moved to Britain in 1974 and created and sold two highly successful companies. The Forbes rich list puts his wealth at US$2.5 billion, and he appears regularly at the top of lists of influential black Britons.
�焾he prize committee is independent of the board,�� Ibrahim said. �九t is the prize committee�塜 decision not to award a prize this year and we entirely respect it. We made clear at the launch of the foundation that there may be years when there is no winner.��
The seven-member prize committee is chaired by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan. It includes former Finnish president and Nobel laureate Martti Ahtisaari, International Atomic Energy Agency director-general and Nobel laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, and former Mozambican minister of education and culture Graca Machel.
Past winners include former Botswanan president Festus Mogae, former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano and former South African president Nelson Mandela, who was made an honorary laureate for his �熺xtraordinary leadership qualities.��
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