Corruption dragging down Zim: WB report

The report, measuring the quality of governance in 212 countries from 1996 to 2006, said Africa had shown the greatest improvement but Cote d'lvoire, Zimbabwe and Venezuela were facing decline over governance issues.

The bank's Governance Matters, 2007: Worldwide Governance Indicators 1996-2006 study highlighted the number of African countries that had made great strides in improving various aspects of government as Kenya, Niger, Sierra Leone, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Tanzania and Rwanda.

However, on the whole, the bank said there had been little improvement to the quality of government around the world over the past decade.

The gains in countries straddling all six continents are "hopeful news," according to the report's co-author Daniel Kaufmann, Director of Global Governance at the WBI.

Kaufmann acknowledged: "On average, there is no evidence that governance in the world at large has improved markedly over the past decade. It is a very varied picture."

"The good news is that some countries, including some of the poorest ones in Africa, are deciding to move forward, and are showing to the world that it is possible to make substantial inroads in improving governance over a relatively short period of time — in less than a decade.

"However, others have stayed behind or even deteriorated."

Zimbabwe is experiencing its worst economic crisis since independence in 1980.

The country is struggling with widespread cash and fuel shortages, inflation topping 4500% year-on-year and unemployment of about 80%.

Zimbabwe's main opposition party blames Mugabe for mismanagement of the economy during his 27-year rule, but Mugabe blames international opponents for sabotaging the economy because of his controversial policy of seizing white-owned farms for redistribution to black peasants.

[Comment: In fact, many of the seized farms went not to landless peasants, but rather to Mugabe's cronies in government.]

Source: World Bank