Far from being hopeless, Africa is full of hope and potential, maybe more so than any other continent. The challenge is to ensure that its potential is utilised.
Mo IbrahimRead
Remarkably, governments are beginning to embrace the idea that nothing enhances democracy more than giving voice and information to everybody in the country. Why not open their books if they have nothing to hide?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the importance of transparency in democracy by empowering citizens with information.
Mo Ibrahim's quote emphasizes the critical role of transparency in democratic governance. He suggests that when governments share information and allow citizens to voice their opinions, it strengthens democracy. The notion of opening government records is presented as a natural step for leaders who have nothing to conceal, ultimately fostering trust and accountability within the political system.
Themes
DemocracyTransparencyGovernanceInformationTrust
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about government accountability, this quote could encourage leaders to embrace transparency.
More from Mo Ibrahim
All quotes →In the final analysis, finding a way to do clean business and not to pay bribes actually improves your bottom line.
Mo IbrahimRead
A narrative that branded Africa as little more than an economic, political and social basket case was not likely to provide the investment needed to drive development.
Mo IbrahimRead
Experience shows that when political governance and economic management diverge, overall development becomes unsustainable.
Mo IbrahimRead
There is a crisis of leadership and governance in Africa, and we must face it.
Mo IbrahimRead
If economic progress is not translated into better quality of life and respect for citizens' rights, we will witness more Tahrir Squares in Africa.
Mo IbrahimRead
Similar quotes
I am a sick man...I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. I think my liver is diseased. Then again, I don't know a thing about my illness; I'm not even sure what hurts.
Fyodor DostoevskyRead
You, boy, who owe everything to a name
Mark AntonyRead
Nothing is divine but what is agreeable to reason.
Immanuel KantRead
I think doctors care very deeply about their patients, but when they organize into the AMA, their responsibility is to the welfare of doctors, and quite often, these lobbying groups are the only ones that are heard in the state capitols and in the capitol of our country.
Jimmy CarterRead
The available worlds looked pretty grim. They had little to offer him because he had little to offer them. He had been extremely chastened to realize that although he originally came from a world which had cars and computers and ballet and Armagnac, he didn't, by himself, know how any of it worked. He couldn't do it. Left to his own devices he couldn't build a toaster. He could just about make a sandwich and that was it.
Douglas AdamsRead
The greater the ambiguity, the greater the pleasure.
Milan KunderaRead