20/10/06 - Freedom House considers Cape Verde freest country in Africa PDF Print E-mail
ImageCape Verde has been given the highest ranking in Africa in the annual report issued by Freedom House, a US-based organism that monitors freedom throughout the world. The archipelago loses out in the realm of freedom of the press, however, to seven other African countries, including Mali, Mauritius, South Africa and São Tomé and Príncipe.  Similarly to the past three or four years, Cape Verde continues to be included on the list of the world’s “free countries” in Freedom House’s annual report. In Africa as a whole, only Cape Verde and Mauritius are considered to be a part of the group of free countries, alongside 60 other countries on various continents.

Also in Africa, Cape Verde comes at the top of a list of 11 countries - Ghana, Mauritius, South Africa, Benin, Botswana, Mali, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Lesotho and Senegal - and is the only one with the maximum possible rating (1.0) in the category Political Rights and Civil Liberties. The remaining countries oscillate between 1.0 and 2.0.

If this is the scenario in terms of political and civil liberties, in terms of freedom of the press, there are other countries in Africa better positioned than Cape Verde, although the archipelago did go up a notch in the ranking between last year and now. In this area, Mali (with 24 points) is by far the best-ranked country in Africa, ahead of Ghana, Mauritius and others, including Cape Verde (32 points).

Interested readers may access Freedom House’s web site at http://www.freedomhouse.org/.

 

Source: A Semana
 
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