Salama A Salama In democratic countries, presidents and politicians remain active in public life even after leaving office. They go on to head major institutions and some, like former president Bill Clinton, lecture. Clinton, I am told, made a fortune on the lecture circuit. Jimmy Carter chaired a research centre bearing his name. Al Gore won the Nobel Prize for his efforts on climate change. In Africa and the Third World in general, things are different. A second career for a former leader is out of the question. With the notable exceptions of Nelson Mandela and Mahathir Mohamed, leaders tend to end their life in obscurity. Some don't survive the coup. Others don't manage to get a decent pension. Other stash money away in Swiss banks while forging elections to stay as long as possible in office. In a nutshell, Africa has become a byword for corruption. A London-based, Sudanese-born billionaire, Mo Ibrahim, wants to solve this problem. He has set aside $5 million for any sub- Saharan African leader who leaves office in an orderly fashion having honourably served his term. Such a leader would be entitled to $500,000 annually for the first 10 years, then $200,000 annually for the rest of his life through a special foundation. Mo -- his full name Mohamed Fathi Ibrahim -- was raised and educated in Egypt. He sold his telecommunications company, Celtel, to Kuwait in 2005 for $3.4 billion. I met him in Cairo just as he was heading to a ceremony in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina to announce this year's winner. He told me that the idea came to him a few years ago. A major businessman told him that his company wouldn't invest in Uganda because of Idi Amin's reputation. "When I told him that Idi Amin left his office a few years earlier, he was stunned," Mo said. The encounter made Mo realise how little the world knew about African affairs. News about African corruption travels fast, but few are aware that some rulers managed to take their countries closer to democracy and prosperity. In Tanzania, Sierra Leone and Kenya democracy has made tangible progress over the past few years. The same is true for Mozambique, a former president of which, Joaquim Chissano, was awarded this year's prize in Alexandria a few days ago. The selection of the winner takes place according to standards designed by Harvard University Professor Robert Rotberg. Mo's Foundation for African Development, which allocates the annual prize, has several international figures, including former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on its board of directors. The winner is selected according to various criteria determining the level of good governance under his rule. Has he prosperity and stability in his country? Has he shown commitment to legal and constitutional principles? Has he promoted equal economic opportunities? Has he promoted political freedoms and human rights? Has he made progress on health, education and women's issues? More importantly, the winner needs to leave his office when his term is over. Critics of Mo's project say that it is hard to find successful candidates because of widespread corruption in sub-Saharan Africa. Others say that the prize of $5 million is not enough of an incentive to end corruption. But Mo is hopeful that a new generation of democratic and just leaders will eventually appear in Africa. He told me that he was thinking of incorporating North Africa into his scheme. Then you'll need double the prize, I said. For $5 million wouldn't come close to persuading North African leaders to leave office. Democracy costs more here than in sub- Saharan Africa, for sure.
