CLAIM: ‘Zimbabwe worst governed country in SADC’
SOURCE: NewsDay
VERDICT: False
The NewsDay, a local daily publication, on April 8, 2024 carried a story under the headline: ‘Zimbabwe worst governed country in SADC.’
The paper cited World Economics, a research institute based in the United Kingdom, as the source of the data.
According to World Economics, a research institute based in London , Zimbabwe, with an E grade and an index score of 29.0 is among the top 10 worst-governed countries in Africa.
Libya tops the list while Eswatini is in position 10, coming after Zimbabwe at number 9.
Other countries included in the list are the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Chad, Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), Cameroon, Congo Rep, and Egypt.
The governance rankings by World Economics are assessed through four main indices: corruption perception, rule of law, press freedom, and political rights.
Governance: 0 = Poor governance, 100 = As good as it gets,
Corruption Perception: 0 = Bad, 100 = Good,
Rule of Law: 0 = low rule of law, 100 = High rule of law,
Press Freedom: 0 = Low press freedom, 100 = High press freedom
Political Rights: 0 = Low political rights, 100 = High political rights.
The grade definitions are A: Very good, B: Good, C: Average, D: Poor, and E: Very poor.
| Rank | Country | Grade | World Economics Governance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Libya | E | 15.4 | |
| 2 | Congo, Dem. Republic | E | 21.6 | |
| 3 | Chad | E | 23.2 | |
| 4 | Burundi | E | 24.4 | |
| 5 | Central African Republic | E | 25.1 | |
| 6 | Cameroon | E | 27.2 | |
| 7 | Congo, Rep. | E | 28.4 | |
| 8 | Egypt | E | 28.8 | |
| 9 | Zimbabwe | E | 29.0 | |
| 10 | Eswatini | E | 30.5 | 33.3 |
Some of Zimbabwe’s counterparts in SADC ranked best-governed on the continent. Mauritius for instance tops the list of best-governed countries in Africa, with a grade of B and an index score of 69.3, while Namibia and South Africa follow closely in second and third places with index scores of 69.1 and 66.9 respectively. Botswana is placed 4th with a grade of B and an index of 65.1.
The list of 10 worst governed countries in Africa includes three of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries namely DRC (second position), Zimbabwe (ninth position) and Eswatini (10th position), making DRC the worst governed country in the regional bloc and not Zimbabwe.
Conclusion
The claim that Zimbabwe (with a governance index score of 29.0) is the worst governed country in SADC has been rated as false in that while the country is one of the worst-governed countries in both the African continent and the SADC region, it is not the worst governed in the SADC region. It does fare better than the war ravaged and politically unstable DRC (with a governance index score of 21.6).
