For the second time in a row, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has announced that no winner emerged in its 2016 prize for Achievement in African Leadership.

The Chairman of the Independent Prize Committee, Dr. Salim Ahmed, disclosed this after a meeting with the board of Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

According to Salim: “A very high bar was deliberately set when the prize was launched in 2006. We recognise and applaud the important contributions that a few African leaders have made to change their countries for the better.

“But the prize is intended to highlight and celebrate truly exceptional leadership, which is uncommon by its very definition. After careful consideration, the committee has decided not to award the prize in 2016.”

Candidates for the award are usually democratically elected former African Heads of State or Government who ruled from 2014 to 2016 and served out their constitutionally mandated terms.

Since its launch in 2006, the foundation had conferred the award four times. The past recipients are Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia (2014), Pedro Pires of Cabo Verde (2011), Festus Mogae of Botswana (2008) and Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique (2007). Nelson Mandela was the inaugural honourary awardee in 2007.

“The foundation looks forward to hosting its flagship event, which is the Ibrahim Governance Weekend, in Marrakech, Morocco from 7 to 9 April 2017,” he said.

The event would open on Friday evening with a high-profile discussion titled: “A Conversation on Leadership,” looking at the challenges of global leadership in the 21st century.