Former Botswana President Festus Mogae has become the second recipient of the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. Established to recognise and celebrate excellence in African leadership, the Ibrahim Prize is the largest annually awarded in the world. Former UN Secretary Kofi Annan and the chair of the prize committee announced the winner today at London's City Hall, saying: "Mogae's outstanding leadership has ensured Botswana's continued stability in the face of the HIV/Aids pandemic which threatens the future of his country.
"Praising Mogae's stewardship of the Botswana economy, Annan said he had demonstrated how a country with natural resources could promote sustainable development with good governance. For the next 10 years Mogae will receive $5 million from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and a further $200 thousand annually for life.Founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Dr Mo Ibrahim, said: "We want to give the presidents life after office - we want to say to them you don't have to be president to serve your people."While many argue about whether African leaders need to be paid in order to voluntarily leave office, Mo Ibrahim is adamant this is not payment but a means of allowing leaders to continue their good work once they step down, without financial worries.
The prize committee of six assess every sub-Saharan African leader who has left office in the previous three calendar years.The committee comprises Annan, Martti Ahtisaari, former president of Finland; Aicha Bah Diallo, former minister of education in Guinea and director of basic education at Unesco; Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and former UN high commissioner for human rights; Salim Ahmed Salim, former prime minister of Tanzania and one-time secretary-general of the Organisation of African Unity.
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