World Bank report on Africa shows mixed performance

The latest World Bank review of government policies and institutions in Africa showed that 20 per cent of countries improved their policy environment to boost growth and cut poverty in 2013.

The review is the annual Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA), which rates the performance of poor countries.

Since 1980, CPIA ratings have been used to determine the allocation of zero-interest financing and grants for the 39 African countries that are eligible for support from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Groups fund for the world’s poorest countries.

CPIA scores assess the quality of countries policy and institutional progress using 16 development indicators in four areas: economic management, structural policies, policies for social inclusion and equity, and public sector management and institutions.

A Ghana News Agency report said countries were rated on a scale of  one (low) to six (high) for each indicator.  The overall CPIA score reflects the average of the four areas of the CPIA.

It said eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) had a rise in overall CPIA scores, and another eight saw the overall CPIA score decline.

“Countries transitioning from conflict, such as Côte d'Ivoire, recorded solid gains in their policy environment.  At the same time, the Central African Republic’s CPIA rating was sharply lower, showing that conflict rapidly sets back policy gains,” it added.

Francisco Ferreira, Chief Economist, World Bank Africa Region, said although there were a number of highly performing countries, African IDA-eligible countries on average continued to lag behind those in other regions in their policy and institutional ratings.

He admitted there was still a lot of work to be done in Africa to meet the region’s needs for effective public services, and transparent and efficient government operations.