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Get Paid To Retire - African Leaders May Apply

November 14th, 2007 by GiGi

African leader rake in the dough Mo Ibrahim sold Celtel a Pan American telecom giant that he created to a Kuwaiti company for $3.4 billion. He’s going to use that money for another gamble - he’s going to pay African leaders to retire.

Next month, Ibrahim’s foundation will announce the first winner of its Achievement in African Leadership Prize. It will be by far the world’s most generous annual philanthropic prize, worth three times as much as the Nobel: the winner will receive $5 million—spread out over 10 years—and $200,000 per year beyond that, until death. Only democratically elected sub-Saharan leaders can qualify. They will be judged by how well they’ve performed in eight categories, including offering security to their citizens, as well as promoting the rule of law, economic opportunity and political freedom. And to collect, they will have to leave office when their term ends, with no clouds over their tenure.

Ibrahim is hoping the prize will give African leaders an alternative to raiding state coffers or dispensing with elections in order to cling to power. Africa’s heads of state, on the other hand—with the single notable exception of Nelson Mandela—typically have only a life of penury and insignificance to look forward to when they step down. Pensions are so small that some, like Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda, can’t even afford to rent apartments in their own capital cities, says Ibrahim.

The prize isn’t intended to lure hideous dictators like Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe from power. The idea is to give good leaders the strength to stick to their ideals. Even better, he says, the prize has the potential to make political office a more appealing choice for Africa’s brightest young minds, who will see prestige and money as the rewards for good politicians.