VZCZCXRO7096
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHTO #1403/01 3631252
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291252Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1129
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0582
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001403
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ECON EAID SOCI KCOR MZ
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL INDICES SHOW LITTLE PROGRESS, SOME
BACKSLIDING IN MOZAMBIQUE
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A survey of respected international
indices confirms that Mozambique, still one of the world's
poorest countries, continues to advance economically but
performs poorly in broader measures of democracy, governance,
and human development. END SUMMARY.
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Mo Ibrahim Governance Ranking: Decline
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2. (U) Mozambique fell four places to number 26 out of 53
African countries in the 2009 Mo Ibrahim Index of African
Governance, a comprehensive system of ranking sub-Saharan
countries based on 84 individual criteria in the categories
of safety and security, rules of law, transparency and
corruption, participation and human rights, sustainable
economic opportunity, and human development.
(http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/en/media/ get/
20091004 2009-ibrahim-index-of-african-governance-
global-news-release.pdf)
--------------------------------------------- ---
World Bank Doing Business 2010: Some Improvement
--------------------------------------------- ---
3. (U) The World Bank report, Doing Business 2010, ranks
Mozambique 135 out of 183 countries, an improvement of five
positions since last year. The report notes two reforms: the
elimination of a minimum capital requirements to start a
business, and a simplification of customs processes to reduce
the time required to clear traded goods. Mozambique's rank
for starting a business went from 143 in the 2009 report to
96 in 2010. The remaining nine indicators showed no other
significant improvements, with several indicators slipping a
few positions.
(http://www.doingbusiness.org/exploreeconomie s/
?economyid=133)
--------------------------------------------- ------------
Transparency Int'l: Corruption Perceptions Index: Decline
--------------------------------------------- ------------
4. (U) Mozambique slipped to 130 out of 180 countries ranked
on Transparency International's (TI) 2009 Corruption
Perceptions Index (CPI), down from 111th place in 2007. The
TI CPI ranks countries in terms of the degree to which
corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and
politicians.
(http://www.transparency.org/news room/in focus/2008/
cpi2008/cpi 2008 table)
--------------------------------------
World Audit Corruption Report: Decline
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5. (U) Mozambique placed 100 out of 150 countries on the
2008 World Audit report on corruption, down from 88th place
in 2007. World Audit uses data from agencies including,
Freedom House, Transparency International, Amnesty
International, Human Rights Watch, The International
Commission of Jurists, to rate states' levels of democracy
and corruption.
(http://www.worldaudit.org/democracy.htm)
----------------------------------
UNDP HDI Report: Minor Improvement
----------------------------------
6. (U) The 2009 United Nations Development Program
(UNDP)-commissioned Human Development Index (HDI) placed
Mozambique 172 out of 182 countries compared to its prior
rank of 172 of 177 countries. However, its HDI score rose to
.402 in the 2009 report from .384 the previous year.
Mozambique's HDI scores in all areas have increased
progressively over the years, from .280 in 1980 to .402
although all have experienced periods of slower growth or
even reversals. The HDI measures life expectancy, adult
literacy, gross enrollment in education, and purchasing power
parity income to calculate country rankings.
(http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/
country fact sheets/cty fs MOZ.html)
--------------------------------------
UNDP HPI Report: No Significant Change
--------------------------------------
7. (U) Mozambique ranked 127 of 135 countries reviewed in
MAPUTO 00001403 002 OF 002
the 2009 Human Poverty Index (HPI), a UNDP-funded initiative.
Mozambique ranked 101 of 108 countries reviewed in the
2007/2008 HPI. The HPI looks at the number of people who are
not expected to live past the age of 40, the adult literacy
rate, the unweighted average of people not using an improved
water source, and the proportion of children under age five
who are underweight for their age.
(http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/indicators/97.ht ml)
---------------------------------
Global Gender Gap Report: Decline
---------------------------------
8. (U) In the 2009 World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap
Report (GGGR), Mozambique dropped to 26th place from 18th
place in 2008. Still, Mozambique was the strongest performer
among countries in the GGGR's "lower-income" category, ahead
of countries including Uganda and the Kyrgyz Republic that
respectively ranked 40th and 41st overall. The GGGR measures
gender inequality in four areas: economic participation and
opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment,
and health and survival.
(http://www.weforum.org/pdf/gendergap/ranking s2009.pdf)
------------------------------------
Afrobarometer 2009: Some Improvement
------------------------------------
9. (U) Afrobarometer's Attitudes Towards Democracy survey
data released in 2009 indicates that Mozambican support for
democracy slightly increased between 2002 and 2008. For
example, 59% of Mozambicans surveyed in 2008 agreed that
democracy was "preferable to any other kind of government,"
up from 56% in 2005. 57% of Mozambicans surveyed in 2008
agreed that a state with many political parties is better
than one with few parties, up from 55% in 2002. Mozambicans'
satisfaction, however, as to their country's performance as a
democracy dropped. 46% of those surveyed in 2008 reported
they were "fairly satisfied" to "very satisfied" with the way
democracy worked in Mozambique, down from 59% in 2005.
(http://www.afrobarometer.org/Democracy%20Ind icators/
moz dem.indicators 13aug09 final.pdf)
ROTH