The magazine had developed its own index but also relied on other indexes like the Mo Ibrahim index on African Governance, the democracy index, Transparency International Corruption Index, the Freedom House's Press Freedom index and the UN Human Development index to come up with a final ranking.

It basically came up with a final score on which the political leaders are judged as an average of the scores from all the above indexes.

The A-listers, which includes Navinchandra Ramgoolam (Mauritius), Pedro Verona Rodriques Pires(Cape Verde), Ian Khama(Botswana), Hifikepunye Pohamba (Namibia)- respect democratic process, stimulate business growth, undertake effective development programmes to lift their populations out of poverty and refrain from provocative or warlike actions.

These outstanding few tend to be brilliantly educated, have the sterling credentials one would expect of world leaders, and can use diplomatic charm to secure bigger foreign aid donations.

Below AfricaNews reproduces the scorecard for the various leaders in Africa:


1 Sir Anerood Jugnauth Mauritus 83.54 A+

2 Pedro Pires Cape Verde 78.91 A

3 Ian Khama Botswana 78.7 A

4 John Atta Mills Ghana 72.56 A

5 Hifikepunye Pohamba Namibia 71.07 A-

6 Jacob Zuma South Africa 69.93 B+

7 James Michel Seychelles 66.4 B

8 Amadou Toumani Touré Mali 64.4 B

9 Ernest Bai Koroma Sierra Leone 61.89 B

10 Jakaya Kikwete Tanzania 60.39 B-

11 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Liberia 60.32 B-

12 Rupiah Banda Zambia 59.59 C+

13 King Mohammed VI Morocco 54.84 C

14 Bethuel Mosisili Lesotho 54.5 C

15 Thomas Yayi Boni Benin 53.91 C

16 Mwai Kibaki Kenya 53.43 C

17 Bingu wa Mutharika Malawi 53.04 C

18 Abdoulaye Wade Senegal 51.68 C-

19 Paul Kagame Rwanda 51.31 C-

20 Yoweri Museveni Uganda 49.91 D+

21 Alassane Ouatara Cote D’ivoire 49.69 D+

22 Armando Guebuza Mozambique 49.35 D+

23 Ben Ali Tunisia 49.01 D

24 Salou Djibo Niger 48.55 D

25 Goodluck Jonathan Nigeria 46.06 D-

26 Pierre Nkurunziza Burundi 45.2 D-

27 Omar Ghaddafi Libya 44.64 F+

28 Abdelaziz Bouteflika Algeria 43.42 F

29 Alpha Conde Guinea 41.94 F

30 Hosni Mubarak Egypt 40.74 F-

31 King Mswati III Swaziland 40.05 F-

32 Ahmed Sambi Comoros 36.97 ICU

33 Mohamed Abdelaziz Mauritania 36.29 ICU

34 Blaise Compaore Burkina Faso 35.7 ICU

35 Ali Ben Ondimba Gabon 34.28 ICU

36 Denis Sassou Nguesso Congo 33.43 ICU

37 Faure Gnassingbe Togo 33.38 ICU

38 Malam Bacai Sanha Guinea Bissau 32.84 ICU

39 Meles Zenawi Asres Ethiopia 32.68 ICU

40 Yahya Jammeh Gambia 32.48 ICU

41 Ismail Omar Guelleh Djibouti 31.53 ICU

42 Joseph Kabila DR Congo 30.18 ICU

43 Eduardo dos Santos Angola 30.17 ICU

44 Paul Biya Cameroon 29.52 Morgue

45 Andry Rajoelina Madagascar 29.31 Morgue

46 FrançoisYangouvonda CAR 28.22 Morgue

47 Robert Mugabe Zimbabwe 22.62 Morgue

48 Sheikh Sharif Ahmed Somalia 22.41 Morgue

49 Idriss Déby Itno Chad 20.81 Morgue

50 Teodoro Mbasogo Eq. Guinea 20.72 Morgue

51 Omar al-Bashir Sudan 15.67 Morgue

52 Isaias Afwerki Eritrea 12.14 Morgue