Exploitation of natural resources has dominated economic activity in Africa but the benefits have accrued only to a privileged few. The continent's most common strategy of exporting commodities in their raw (non-valued added) form has led to disappointing results, reflected in unsustainable and non-inclusive economic growth, marginal improvements in the well-being of the population, and low levels of economic diversification and transformation. This edition examines efforts to improve the governance of Africa's abundant natural resources, emphasizing the need to strengthen natural resource governance institutions and frameworks to enhance domestic revenue, the promotion of economic diversification, and structural transformation.

This report contains the full-scale analysis of data from the 27 countries involved in the African Governance Project. Experts and households were polled in each country for their perceptions about political, economic and institutional governance issues. There are both gains and deficits reported. Competitive multiparty democracy has become established in many African countries, with state institutions gradually being reconstructed to promote inclusiveness, transparency and accountability. The performance of judiciaries is improving, though still often inadequate. The study also shows progress in efficient and effective public financial management and accountability, though there are still serious problems with corruption and lack of efficiency in the tax system. Public services are still largely underprovided in most countries, and attracting private investment remains a problem for Africa. Despite some signs of progress, much more has to be achieved before the capable democratic state is the norm in Africa.

This second edition of The African Governance Report covers 35 African countries and assesses and monitors the progress of governance in Africa, it is the most comprehensive periodic report on governance on the continent.

This second edition of The African Governance Report covers 35 African countries and assesses and monitors the progress of governance in Africa, it is the most comprehensive periodic report on governance on the continent.

This 4th edition of the African Governance Report provides a critique of perception-based measurements of corruption as well as an assessment of existing alternative, mostly mixed, measures of corruption. It highlights that pure perception-based measurements are highly subjective and do not provide insights into the institutional and policy reforms needed to combat corruption and improve economic governance. They also fail to take into account the international dimension of corruption. The report argues that the problem of corruption has to be assessed and addressed in the context of overall economic governance, taking into consideration both its domestic and international dimensions. It also presents policy recommendations related to improving transparency and accountability, enhancing ownership and participation in the fight against corruption, building credible national economic governance institutions, and improving the regional and global economic governance architecture.

The African Governance Report is the most comprehensive report on governance in Africa, assesses and monitors the progress African countries are making on governance, identifies capacity gaps in governance institutions and proposes polices and strategic interventions aimed at promoting good governance on the continent. It focuses on political and economic governance, development of the private sector and corporate governance, checks and balances in political power, institutional effectiveness and accountability of the executive, human rights and the rule of law, corruption and institutional capacity building. The theme of this second edition of the Report is that Africa has made progress in improving governance.