Anheie , Helmu K.; F öhlich, Ch is ian; Lis , Regina A.
A icle — Published Ve sion
Sub‐Saha an A ica: Towa ds be e go e nance and
sus ainabili y?
Global Policy
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
John Wiley & Sons
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Anheie , Helmu K.; F öhlich, Ch is ian; Lis , Regina A. (2023) : Sub‐Saha an
A ica: Towa ds be e go e nance and sus ainabili y?, Global Policy, ISSN 1758-5899, Wiley,
Hoboken, NJ, Vol. 14, pp. 124-135,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/1758-5899.13283
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/288192
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124
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Global Policy. 2023;14(Suppl. 4):124–135.wileyonlinelib a y.com/jou nal/gpol
1 | CONTRADICTORY PATTERNS
The F agile S a es Index anks coun ies by hei abili y
o de end na ional bo de s, police hei e i o y and p o-
ide public se ices and economic s abili y, among o he
c i e ia. O he 31 coun ies ha a e classi ied wi h a e y
high, high and ale s a us o agili y in 2019, 22 a e in
Sub- Saha an A ica (Fund o Peace,2019). Only h ee
o he egion's coun ies a e anked as s able (Mau i ius)
o mo e s able (Seychelles and Bo swana). A ica ap-
pea s o be ill- go e ned. Ye , in seeming con adic ion,
he Be gg uen Go e nance Index (BGI)1 shows o he
pe iod 2000– 2019 ha go e nance p og ess has been
made in many A ican coun ies, a inding co obo a ed
by he Ib ahim Index o A ican Go e nance (Mo Ib ahim
Founda ion,2020). Wha is mo e, a ecen epo by he
In e na ional Mone a y Fund (Newiak e al.,2022) ound
nume ous ins ances o imp o ed go e nance pe o -
mance ac oss he egion.
A ica is he wo ld's poo es egion, and home o some
o he poo es coun ies wo ldwide. Ye o Sub- Saha an
A ica as a whole, GDP pe capi a (cons an 2015 US$)2
inc eased om US$1238 in he yea 2000 o $1652 by
2019. Real GDP g ow h a es a e aged 3.5% o ha pe-
iod, lowe han Sou heas Asia (4.6%) bu highe han
La in Ame ica's (1%) o Eu ope's (0.6%) (IMF,2023).
So, how do hese seemingly con adic o y pa e ns
o go e nance agili y and po e y, on one hand, and
imp o ed go e nance and economic g ow h, on he
o he , i oge he ? The answe is ha he coun ies
making up Sub- Saha an A ica a e no only highly di-
e se in cul u al, poli ical and economic e ms bu also
a a le el o de elopmen ha makes hem ulne able
and ola ile as well as malleable o imp o emen s and
oppo uni ies. In his con ex , i is impo an o conside
ha he majo i y (26) o he egion's coun ies a e clas-
si ied by he Wo ld Bank as low- income, based on an
annual pe capi a income o less han US$1085, 17 a e
lowe middle- income, six a e uppe middle- income and
only one, Seychelles, is conside ed high- income.
Low pe capi a income makes A ican popula ions
ulne able and less esilien o changing condi ions,
be hey na u al such as amines and pandemics o
economic down u ns and poli ical ins abili y. As Ace-
moglu and Robinson(2019) a gue, i is no ha less
de eloped coun ies su e om ex ended pe iods
o low g ow h o e en decline. On he con a y, hey
can g ow, as we ha e seen abo e, some imes a high
le els and e en quickly. Howe e , wha holds hem
back is hei equen inabili y o wi hs and economic
down u ns and c ises o many kinds such as o main-
ain p e ious imp o emen s. Gains in economic and
SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE
Sub- Saha an A ica: Towa ds be e go e nance and
sus ainabili y?
Helmu K.Anheie 1,2 | Ch is ianF öhlich3 | Regina A.Lis 4
Recei ed: 18 Augus 2023
|
Accep ed: 22 Augus 2023
DOI: 10.1111/1758-5899.13283
1UCLA Luskin School o Public A ai s,
Los Angeles, Cali o nia, USA
2He ie School, Be lin, Ge many
3F eie Uni e si ä Be lin, Be lin, Ge many
4Independen Resea che , Hambu g,
Ge many
Co espondence
Regina A. Lis , Hambu g, Ge many.
Email: alis @yahoo.com
Funding in o ma ion
Be gg uen Ins i u e
Abs ac
The coun ies o he Sub- Saha an egion ha e, on a e age, made signi ican
p og ess in go e nance pe o mance, especially in e ms o democ a ic accoun -
abili y and public goods p o ision— indings ha seem o con adic pa e ns o
s a e agili y and economic unde de elopmen common in he egion. This a i-
cle explo es his seeming con adic ion and p esen s in mo e de ail indings om
he Be gg uen Go e nance Index ega ding he go e nance pe o mance o i e
coun ies, namely Ghana, Kenya, Nige ia, Senegal and Sou h A ica. Lagging
s a e capaci y and g owing so e eign deb eme ge as c i ical ac o s, and he a -
icle sugges s ha hey may be esponsible o he inabili y o many coun ies in
he egion o consolida e gains in go e nance as well as economic pe o mance.
This is an open access a icle unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial-NoDe i s License, which pe mi s use and dis ibu ion in
any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed, he use is non-comme cial and no modi ica ions o adap a ions a e made.
© 2023 UCLA Luskin School. Global Policy published by Du ham Uni e si y and John Wiley & Sons L d.
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125
SUB- SAHARAN AFRICA GOVERNANCE
go e nance pe o mance as well as poli ical and social
s abili y a e a a g ea e isk o being los . High- income
coun ies especially, bu al eady middle- income coun-
ies ha e mo e esilience, and, i su e ing shocks o
expe iencing empo a y decline, hey a e mo e likely
o e u n o p e- c isis pe o mance le els.
Wha a e he o igins o his pa e n whe e gains a e
made and los ? O cou se, many analys s ha e com-
men ed on his, and he e is no he place o a ull p e-
sen a ion o he a ious explana ions and heo ies (see
Za man's seminal assessmen (2008); and mo e e-
cen ly, Lancas e & an de Walle,2016; Olo ungoba &
Falola,2020). Ins ead, we ocus on go e nance, he ole
o he s a e and public adminis a ion. Go e nance sys-
ems in A ica ha e speci ic cha ac e is ics ha se hem
apa om o he pa s o he Global Sou h (Hyden,2020;
Tapsco ,2021; Vyas- Doo gape sad e al.,2019).
The i s is ha domes ically, adminis a i e sys ems
we e imposed by colonial powe s ha had li le i any
oo s in he local popula ion.3 They we e sys ems o
con ol and en ex ac ion i s and o emos , and much
less abou building up s a e capaci ies o p o ide public
goods. Wi h independence (mos ly in he 1960s), pa h
dependencies se in, as he p e ious colonial admin-
is a ion sys em emained la gely in ac . In addi ion, a
pe sis en eliance on inancial and expe suppo om
o me colonial powe s and la e mul ila e al agencies
like he Wo ld Bank mean ha
he A ican s a e— he locus o public ad-
minis a ion— is a o eign c ea ion imposed
on socie y wi hou oo s in he economy o
socie y. This ends o make i s go e nance
cap icious and shaped o emos by poli ical
ba les o e how en s and p i ileges a e
sha ed among g oups ha come oge he
o easons o consump ion a he han
p oduc ion.
(Hyden,2020, p. 1)
The second cha ac e is ic is ha , since independ-
ence and h oughou he Cold Wa , A ican go e n-
ance and public adminis a ion sys ems ha e been
in luenced by in e na ional powe s and p essu ed o
adop s ikingly di e en ideologies and app oaches
o accele a e economic de elopmen . F om he im-
po subs i u ion doc ine and A ican socialism o
s uc u al adjus men p og ammes and neolibe alism
o social democ acy and indigenous g ow h policies—
all le hei ma k on A ica's poli ical sys ems, and
by implica ion, hei public adminis a ions ha , ypi-
cally unde unded ye o en o e s a ed and lacking
bo h s abili y and compe ence, became ulne able
o co up ion and p eda o y eli e. As a esul , A ican
coun ies ha e lacked a well- coo dina ed cen al poli-
cymaking and adminis a i e machine y o go e n-
men wi h he capaci y o se objec i es and ensu e
se ice deli e y consis ency (Nhema,2016). In some
coun ies like Nige ia, wi h i s expo - o ien ed oil
economy, he weakness o public adminis a ion sys-
ems is ampli ied by he esou ce cu se o he Du ch
disease, as Za man(2008) a gues.4
A hi d cha ac e is ic sha ed by mos coun ies in
he egion is poli ical ins abili y, as demons a ed by
he F agile S a es Index discussed abo e. While he e
a e a ew excep ions (e.g., Bo swana and Mau i ius),
coun ies like Nige ia, Ghana, Bu kina Faso, Zimba-
bwe, Tanzania and many o he s expe ienced equen
in olun a y changes o go e nmen , pa icula ly in
he decades immedia ely ollowing independence.
Since 1950, he e ha e been 210 coup a emp s (Law-
le , 2022). E en so, a hi d wa e o democ a isa ion
seemed o ake hold in he pos - Cold Wa e a, educing
ins abili y in o he 2000s, bu he 2020s augu inc eas-
ing ola ili y, as illus a ed by a se ies o ecen coups in
he coun ies o he Sahel egion.
Gi en he challenges o ela i ely low le els o
economic de elopmen and agile go e nmen s and
public adminis a ions, wha can we say abou he go -
e nance pe o mance o Sub- Saha an A ican coun-
ies o he i s wo decades o he wen y- i s cen u y,
when many coun ies in he egion en e ed hei six h
decade o independence?
2 | GOVERNANCE PERFORMANCE
IN SUB- SAHARAN AFRICA
The BGI da a, which co e s 32 o he Sub- Saha an
A ican coun ies, allows us o shed conside able ligh
on gene al go e nance ends in he egion, especially
in compa ison wi h o he wo ld egions.5 Sub- Saha an
A ican coun ies as a whole ha e imp o ed hei pe -
o mance measu ably on all h ee high- le el indices—
public goods p o ision, s a e capaci y and democ a ic
accoun abili y— ha make up he Go e nance T iangle,
in oduced in Anheie , Lang and Knudsen's a icle ‘In-
oducing he Be gg uen Go e nance Index: I. Con-
cep ual and Me hodological F amewo k’ in his special
issue.
As shown in Figu e1, Sub- Saha an A ica has made
g ea e s ides in imp o ing he p o ision o public
goods such as ood secu i y, heal hca e and clean ai
han any o he egion, wi h i s a e age sco e o public
goods p o ision ising by 20 poin s om 24 in 2000 o
44 in 2019. Though some coun ies like Bu kina Faso
achie ed la ge gains ( om 8 in 2000 o 35 in 2019)
and some like Bo swana mo e modes ones (47– 52),
none o he egion's coun ies included in he BGI los
g ound o e he pe iod. As we will see la e , all i e o
he coun ies highligh ed in his a icle imp o ed hei
public goods p o ision o e he pe iod by mo e han
10 poin s. Despi e his p omising news, Figu e1 also
shows ha Sub- Saha an A ica con inues o o e i s
126
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ANHEIER e al.
populace he lowes le el o public goods, jus eaching
in 2019 he le el Sou h Asia had in 2000.
Imp o emen in he egion's s a e capaci y since
2000 was no iceable (34 s. 38 in 2019), bu nei he
ema kable no uni o m ac oss coun ies. Unlike pub-
lic goods p o ision, s a e capaci y did no inc ease
signi ican ly in any wo ld egion, as shown in Figu e2.
The Sub- Saha an A ican egion's modes ise was led
by coun ies such as Kenya (see below), Libe ia and
Gambia, which each made gains o a leas 15 poin s
o e he 2 decades, bu b ough down by coun ies
such as Sou h A ica and Came oon ha los 10 poin s
o mo e. Many coun ies, including ela i ely high-
capaci y s a es such as Namibia and Senegal, began
and ended he pe iod a he same le el. By 2019, he
egion's a e age o s a e capaci y had jus o e aken
hose o Sou h Asia and Middle Eas /No h A ica.
Democ a ic accoun abili y inc eased in he Sub-
Saha an A ica egion sligh ly mo e han s a e capaci y
did, wi h he a e age sco e ising om 53 in 2000 o 58
in 2019. This a he posi i e egional end uns coun e
o ha occu ing in mos o he wo ld egions, as seen
in Figu e3. Among he mos imp o ed coun ies a e
Gambia ( om 36 in 2000 o 65 in 2019), Libe ia ( om
51 o 69) and Sie a Leone (50– 69). While hese we e
imp o ing, se e al coun ies ended in he opposi e di-
ec ion, including Bo swana ( om 78 o 68), Came oon
(45– 39) and Uganda (54– 46). Especially du ing he
1990s, he ‘ hi d wa e’ o democ a isa ion su ged in
he egion. In 1990, only 3 Sub- Saha an A ican s a es
(Bo swana, The Gambia and Mau i ius) we e ‘ ee’
and mo e han 30 ‘no ee’, as measu ed by F eedom
House. A me e decade la e , in 2000, nine we e ca e-
go ised as ‘ ee’, wo dozen we e ‘pa ly ee’ and only
15 we e no (including The Gambia which had allen
back in o he ‘no ee’ ca ego y). A he end o ou ob-
se a ion pe iod, 2019, he e we e s ill 9 ‘ ee’, bu ewe
we e ‘pa ly ee’ (21) and mo e ‘no ee’ (19). As we will
see la e , he e a e signs ha his ‘ hi d wa e’ o democ-
a isa ion is unning ou o s eam.
This gene ally posi i e pa e n o imp o emen is con-
sis en wi h he esul s o he Ib ahim Index o A ican
Go e nance (IIAG), which also de ec ed a s eady ise in
o e all go e nance pe o mance in he b oade A ican
con inen om 2010 o 2018, wi h a small d op in 2019
(Mo Ib ahim Founda ion, 2020). And like he BGI, he
FIGURE 1 Public goods p o ision in Sub- Saha an A ica in in e na ional compa ison. Sou ce: Be gg uen Go e nance Index 2022.
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127
SUB- SAHARAN AFRICA GOVERNANCE
IIAG ound ha imp o emen s in public goods- ela ed
indica o s inc eased mo e han hose ela ing o s a e
capaci y o democ a ic accoun abili y. Ye , a undamen-
al conund um emains: i espec i e o highe pe capi a
GDP, wha made imp o emen s in public goods p o i-
sion possible wi hou compa able inc eases in s a e
capaci y?
We will in es iga e his ques ion in he con ex o
he i e coun ies p esen ed below. While di e ences
among he coun ies exis , he gene al pa e n ha p e-
ails seems o indica e ha inc eases in public goods
p o ision as pa o o al go e nmen spending ha e
been inanced mos ly by a combina ion o signi ican ly
highe go e nmen bo owing and somewha highe
ax e enues. O icial de elopmen assis ance played
a ole, hough a mino one, only in Ghana, Kenya and
Senegal. The e a e also indica ions ha pe sonal emi -
ances om ab oad, which ha e g own signi ican ly in
many Sub- Saha an coun ies since he beginning o he
2000s, may ha e led o a p i a e subs i u ion o public
goods expendi u e, he eby elie ing iscal p essu es on
go e nmen s o p o ide quali y educa ion o heal hca e
(see Desie o,2018).
3 | A CLOSER LOOK AT FIVE
COUNTRIES
O cou se, behind he Sub- Saha an a e ages a e signi -
ican a ia ions in e ms o coun y pe o mance. Since
we canno do jus ice o he ull a ie y in he space o
his a icle, we o e he e b ie igne es o a selec ion
o coun ies— Nige ia, Sou h A ica, Kenya, Ghana and
Senegal— highligh ing he BGI indings and he oppo -
uni ies and challenges p esen ed o each. Table1 p o-
ides he 2000 and 2019 sco es on he h ee high- le el
indices o all i e coun ies, and Figu e4 shows ends
o e he wo decades o each indi idual coun y.
3.1 | Nige ia
Since independence om B i ain in 1960, Nige ia's
adminis a i e sys em has been plagued by o ganisa-
ional ins abili y and co up ion. While ending owa ds
democ acy, he coun y su e ed om a b u al ci il wa
(1967– 70), se e al mili a y coups and pe iods o dic a-
o ship un il 1999. Nige ia is no only by a he mos
FIGURE 2 S a e capaci y in Sub- Saha an A ica in in e na ional compa ison. Sou ce: Be gg uen Go e nance Index 2022.

128
|
ANHEIER e al.
populous coun y in A ica6 and one o he mos e hni-
cally di e se (wi h mo e han 200 e hnic g oups) on he
A ican con inen , bu also he la ges economy in Sub-
Saha an A ica. Rich na u al esou ce commodi ies,
mos ly c ude oil, suppo ed a conside able inc ease
o GDP pe capi a om US$1462 in 2000 o US$2505
by 2019,7 al hough in la ion has been highe han GDP
g ow h o all bu a ew yea s o e his 20- yea span.8
In essence, o he a e age Nige ian, his has mean
economic s agna ion a bes . In addi ion, long pe iods
o in e nal con lic , especially in he coun y's no he n
and eas e n egions, ampan co up ion and misman-
agemen o i s as oil e enues ha e unde mined Ni-
ge ia's go e nance as well as economic pe o mance.
As Table1 shows, Nige ia's BGI public goods p o-
ision sco es ollow he Sub- Saha an a e age closely
FIGURE 3 Democ a ic accoun abili y in Sub- Saha an A ica in in e na ional compa ison. Sou ce: Be gg uen Go e nance Index 2022.
TABLE 1 Public goods p o ision, s a e capaci y and democ a ic accoun abili y in i e A ican coun ies, 2000 and 2019.
Coun y
Public goods p o ision S a e capaci y Democ a ic accoun abili y
2000 2019 Change 2000 2019 Change 2000 2019 Change
Ghana 35 57 +22 37 36 −1 81 77 −4
Kenya 25 53 +28 31 46 +15 56 64 +8
Nige ia 23 43 +20 20 27 +765 66 +1
Senegal 25 46 +21 51 53 +273 78 +5
Sou h A ica 50 63 +13 53 43 −10 82 76 −6
Regional
A e age
24 44 +20 34 38 +453 58 +5
Sou ce: Be gg uen Go e nance Index 2022.
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129
SUB- SAHARAN AFRICA GOVERNANCE
and inc ease om 23 in 2000 o 43 in 2019. As seen in
Figu e4, his signi ican imp o emen om a a he low
s a ing poin luc ua es in pa icula in he i s decade
o he wen y- i s cen u y, e lec ing inconsis en policies
esul ing om con es ed go e nmen changes and p o-
ound e hnic and eligious ic ions. Though gains we e
made in li e expec ancy, which ose om 47 yea s in 2000
o a s ill- low 53 in 2019, and income inequali y, which de-
clined o e he pe iod,9 bo h con inue o be challenges.
A e he 2015 elec ions, public goods p o ision ollowed
a mo e consis en posi i e de elopmen pa h, especially
in e ms o heal h and human de elopmen .
O e all, Nige ia's BGI sco es o s a e capaci y e-
mained qui e low a a ound 20 om 2000 o 2010,
FIGURE 4 Democ a ic accoun abili y, s a e capaci y and public goods p o ision in i e A ican coun ies, 2000– 2019. Sou ce:
Be gg uen Go e nance Index 2022.
Democ ac ic
accoun abili y
S a ecapaci y
Public goods
p o ision
Democ ac ic
accoun abili y
S a ecapaci y
Public goods
p o ision
Democ ac ic
accoun abili y
S a ecapaci y
Public goods
p o ision
Democ ac ic
accoun abili y
S a ecapaci y
Public goods
p o ision
Democ ac ic
accoun abili y
S a ecapaci y
Public goods
p o ision
Sou hA ica
Nige ia
Senegal
Ghana
Kenya
2000 2005201020152019
2000 2005201020152019
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
130
|
ANHEIER e al.
well below he Sub- Saha an a e age, bu like pub-
lic goods p o ision sco es began o ise in he mid-
2010s, eaching 27 by 2019. Howe e , he inc ease
in public goods p o ision was unlikely inanced by
ax e enue, which ac ually dec eased om 9.2% o
GDP in 200010 o 6% in 201911 and emains a he
lowe end o he a e age A ican ange (OECD/ATAF/
AUC, 2022). While go e nmen g oss deb ,12 which
declined om 57.6% o GDP in 2000 o 7.3% in 2008
in he wake o deb elie p og ammes o e u n o
29.2% by 2019, migh ha e con ibu ed, oil e enues
we e an impo an , bu weakening ounda ion o go -
e nmen spending un il 2011 (15.5% o 22% o GDP),
a e which en s ell and ha e emained in he sin-
gle digi s.13 The Nige ian s a e also ecei ed s ong
back- up in public goods p o ision om diaspo a e-
mi ances, which inc eased om US$1.06 billion in
2003 o US$14.64 billion in 2005 and con inued o
g ow o US$23.81 billion in 2019.14 This made Nige ia
he six h- la ges emi ance- ecei ing coun y among
low- and middle- income coun ies (Ra ha e al.,2020,
p. 28). Howe e , emi ances ell sha ply du ing he
COVID- 19 pandemic.
The weak s a e capaci y sco es e lec wo majo ob-
s acles in he way o Nige ia's capaci y o go e n: he
endemic co up ion o a public adminis a ion sys em
ueled by oil e enues, and in e nal secu i y h ea s in-
cluding kidnapping, e o ism and bandi y, mos no a-
bly he h ea s o Boko Ha am and he so- called Fulani
he dsmen in he no he n pa s o he coun y. Nige-
ia con inues o su e om wo ills Hyden(2020) and
Za man(2008) iden i y: a agile public adminis a ion
easily cap u ed by a p eda o y eli e and a p o ound in-
ec ion o Du ch disease.
Howe e , i espec i e o high co up ion and in-
e nal iolence, Nige ia has somehow managed
o emain a democ acy o he las wo decades,
wi h ou elec ion cycles since 1999. Indeed, Nige-
ia began and ended he pe iod a he same o e all
le el o democ a ic accoun abili y, 65 in 2000 and 66
in 2019, wi h sco es luc ua ing be ween 61 poin s in
2007 and 72 in 2015. Though his is highe han he
a e age o he Sub- Saha an egion, he lack o sig-
ni ican imp o emen con i ms accoun s ha see he
coun y's democ acy only slowly consolida ing and
emaining agile (Fasakin,2015). While ecen elec-
ions we e mos ly peace ul, poli ical pa icipa ion is
s ill s ongly hinde ed. By he same oken, a a he
s ong media and ci il socie y ac i ism bols e socie-
al accoun abili y.
3.2 | Sou h A ica
Sou h A ica's economy is he mos di e se and ech-
nologically ad anced in Sub- Saha an A ica, i s size
second only o Nige ia's. A he beginning o he new
millennium, economic g ow h, employmen and capi al
o ma ion inc eased un il he global inancial c isis hi in
2008, a e which g ow h a es ba ely eco e ed. Du -
ing he i s p esidency o Jacob Zuma (2009– 2014),
he go e nmen u ned inc easingly o s a e- owned en-
e p ises, which play a signi ican ole in he economy.
E en hough i has he con inen 's la ges indus ial
base and ad anced in as uc u e, s a e e enue s ill
depends hea ily on he ex ac ion o na u al esou ces,
such as pla inum, gold and ch omium. Fu he eco-
nomic di e si ica ion is held back by sho ages o skilled
labou in key sec o s such as heal hca e and echnol-
ogy. Pe capi a GDP emains among he highes on he
whole con inen and inc eased om US$4735 in 2000
o US$6189 in 2019.
Despi e somewha slowe economic g ow h, Sou h
A ica managed o imp o e public goods p o ision con-
side ably, b inging i s BGI sco e om 50 in 2000 o 63
in 2019 (see Table1). This ajec o y is e lec ed in i s
Human De elopmen Index (HDI) sco e which ose
om 0.61 (2001) o 0.70 (2019), he highes in Sub-
Saha an A ica.15
These changes a e ema kable also in ligh o he
mani old di icul ies he coun y has been g appling wi h.
HIV/AIDS, o example, was esponsible o Sou h A ica's
a e age li e expec ancy plunging o less han 43 yea s by
2008. The i s Zuma p esidency was p aised o i s HIV/
AIDS policy, which has been c edi ed wi h inc easing li e
expec ancy, which ebounded o 65 yea s as o 2022.16
E en wi h hese e o s, in 2018 one in i e Sou h A ican
adul s (15– 49 yea s) was li ing wi h HIV/AIDS.17
Sou h A ica is also challenged by pe sis en high
you h unemploymen o 47%18 by 2019, a po e y a e
abo e 50% and income inequali y a ex eme heigh s,
wi h a Gini coe icien o 63 in 2014, among he highes
in he wo ld.19 Howe e , Sou h A ica has implemen ed
one o he mos ex ensi e social wel a e sys ems
among de eloping coun ies (e.g., o child suppo ,
old- age pension, school nu i ion, unemploymen insu -
ance, e c.) (Goldbla ,2005; Oos huizen,2021), pu ing
p essu e on public budge s. So does Sou h A ica's
highe educa ion sys em, he con inen 's mos de el-
oped and in e na ionally ecognised, which elies hea -
ily on go e nmen al suppo .
While well abo e he Sub- Saha an a e age, Sou h
A ica's BGI sco e o s a e capaci y dec eased con-
side ably om 53 in 2000 o 43 in 2019. A he same
ime, public deb inc eased om 37.9% o GDP in
2000 o 56.2% in 2019, wi h mos o he ise happen-
ing a e 2008. As seen in Figu e4, he loss o s a e
capaci y coincides wi h he second Zuma p esidency
(2014– 2018), which was also ma ked by poo policy
decisions, maladminis a ion and co up ion. Un-
sus ainable go e nmen spending, collapsing s a e-
owned en e p ises and law en o cemen unable o
cope wi h a high c ime a e a e easons why— in he
eyes o some (e.g., Himba a, 2020)— Sou h A ica
|
131
SUB- SAHARAN AFRICA GOVERNANCE
has begun o de e io a e owa ds a ‘sophis ica ed
ailed s a e’.
Ha ing de eloped as a libe al democ acy wi h a sig-
ni ican s a e p esence in he economy since he end
o Apa heid in he ea ly 1990s, he coun y is one o
he ew in A ica ne e o ha e had a coup d'é a , and
egula elec ions a e he ule (Liebe man,2022). The
BGI sco e o democ a ic accoun abili y emained a a
high le el o 82 poin s un il 2012. The second Zuma
p esidency coincided wi h a decline owa ds 76 poin s
in 2019. S ill, a sel - con iden ci il socie y and ib an
media hold he go e nmen accoun able and oppose
a emp s o weaken key ins i u ions.20
3.3 | Kenya
Only ew coun ies in he Sub- Saha an A ican egion
ha e been able o main ain a s able g ow h pa e n
abo e he A ican a e age, among hem Kenya. De y-
ing gene ally downwa d economic ends du ing he
second decade o he wen y- i s cen u y, Kenya de-
eloped in o one o he s onges economies in Eas
A ica, as i es ablished i sel as a cen al logis ics and
anspo a ion hub. Wi h hese de elopmen s, GDP pe
capi a ose om US$1187 in 2000 o US$1653 in 2019,
jus abo e he Sub- Saha an A ican a e age.
While Kenya shows s ong imp o emen o e all,
i inc eased in public goods p o ision mo e han he
o he ou Sub- Saha an A ican coun ies co e ed in
his a icle. As Table1 shows, while i s a ed ou a a
a he low le el o 25 in 2000, simila o he egional
a e age a ha ime, he p o ision o public goods
mo e han doubled o 53 poin s by 2019, well abo e
he a e age since 2010. Policies emphasising build-
ing in as uc u e ha e unde pinned his s ong o e all
imp o emen (Wekesa e al.,2016), as ha e e o s o
s ep up he p o ision o social and en i onmen al pub-
lic goods. Ye , as is he case in o he coun ies, his
expansion in public goods p o ision was o a conside -
able deg ee inanced by g owing public deb , which in-
c eased om 34.2% o GDP in 2007 o 59.1% in 2019.
Pe sonal emi ances om ab oad inc eased as well
om US$685.76 million in 2010 o US$2.84 billion in
2019.
Howe e , Kenya's s a e capaci y, oo, shows a e-
ma kable inc ease o oughly 50% om a sco e o 31 in
2000 o 46 in 2019, he s onges imp o emen in his
BGI dimension in he Sub- Saha an egion, s a ing ou
below he A ican a e age, bu exceeding i oday. Al-
hough co up ion and mismanagemen emain majo
issues, he posi i e end indica es he e ec s o im-
p o emen s in public adminis a ion, no ably also in he
managemen o in as uc u e.
The BGI sco e o democ a ic accoun abili y in Kenya
s a ed sligh ly highe han he Sub- Saha an A ica a -
e age in 2000 and has inc eased in line wi h he es o
he egion. The highly di e se coun y o o e 70 dis-
inc e hnic g oups has kep pace wi h he end owa ds
somewha g ea e democ a ic accoun abili y in he e-
gion, bu luc ua ions e eal ha Kenya is no ye a con-
solida ed democ acy (Hassan,2013) and ins ead e ains
a poli icised public adminis a ion and jus ice sys em.
Mo eo e , elec ions ha e become mo e pola ised, mo e
di isi e and mo e iolen (Be elsmann S i ung,2022).
Ne e heless, BGI sco es o democ a ic accoun abili y
imp o ed conside ably om 56 in 2000 o 68 in 2013
p omo ing Kenya along he way om a F eedom House
designa ion o ‘no ee’ o ‘pa ly ee’.
3.4 | Ghana
Hi ha d by poli ical ins abili y in he 1970s and 1980s,
and s uc u al adjus men policies p omo ed by he
Wo ld Bank and he In e na ional Mone a y Fund in he
mid- o la e- 1980s, Ghana's economic pe o mance
g adually began o imp o e slowly in he 1990s and
con inued so a e i s i s ansi ion o powe by dem-
oc a ic means in 2000 (Konadu- Agyemang, 2000).
The economy's g ow h a e has exceeded ha o
he Sub- Saha an A ica egion o mos o he i s
wo decades o he wen y- i s cen u y, eaching a
peak o 14% in 2011 a e comme cial p oduc ion o
oil began. Howe e , he coun y's dependency on
only a ew expo commodi ies such as gold, c ude
oil and cocoa, and he absence o a la ge domes-
ic indus ial base ha e mean ha g ow h a es ha e
been ha d o main ain, and he gains ha e no neces-
sa ily been equally dis ibu ed. Meanwhile, GDP pe
capi a inc eased conside ably om US$1020 in 2000
o US$1981 in 2019.
While Ghana's BGI sco es o public goods p o i-
sion s ayed well abo e Sub- Saha an a e ages, hey
ha e a ied o e ime— some imes conside ably— as
go e nmen s changed. Though sligh inc eases we e
seen be ween 2000 (35) and 2007 (38), public goods
p o ision began o sus ainably imp o e unde he ad-
minis a ions o John A a Mills (2008– 2012) and John
Mahama (2012– 2017) om 44 in 2008 o 54 in 2017,
and con inued o ise o 57 in 2019. Though p og ess
in add essing po e y, hunge and inequali y educ-
ion (economic public goods) has been modes and
income inequali ies be ween u al and u ban a eas
emain high, heal h and human de elopmen mea-
su es (social public goods) imp o ed conside ably
since 2008, wi h s eps o wa d made pa icula ly in
gende equali y and educa ional access and quali y.
Mo eo e , Ghana's deli e y o en i onmen al goods
imp o ed as well wi h a boos in he elec ici y access
a e.
While public goods p o ision imp o ed, Ghana's
s a e capaci y did no , emaining on a consis en ly
a he low le el (37 in 2000 and 36 in 2019) a ound he