$200,000/yr for the rest of his life - Botswana's former President

Here is an African leader that we should celebrate. See story below



Botswana's Mogae wins $5m prize

Botswana's former President Festus Mogae has won a $5m (£2.8m) prize to encourage good governance in Africa.
He stepped down in April after serving two terms in office.
Botswana is one of Africa's most stable countries - it has never had a coup and has had regular multi-party elections since independence in 1966.

Announcing the prize, ex-UN Secretary General Kofi Annnan also commended Mr Mogae for his action to tackle the Aids pandemic which has ravaged the country.
The Ibrahim Prize - the most valuable individual annual prize in the world - was set up by Sudan-born telecoms entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim.
As well as the $5m prize, Mr Mogae, 69, gets $200,000 a year for the rest of his life.

Alcohol ban

Mr Mogae pointed out that Botswana was already doing well before he became president in 1998.
"I did not create the democracy in my country, I consolidated it and deepened it by practiced, accountable governance, respect of the rule of law, independence of the courts, respect for human rights, including women's rights," he told the BBC.
But Mr Mogae also inherited a country with one of the world's highest rates of HIV/Aids and he took strong action to tackle it, making Botswana the first sub-Saharan African country where anti-retroviral drugs were widely available for free. The drugs are known locally as "Mogae's tablets", reports the AP news agency.

"President Mogae's outstanding leadership has ensured Botswana's continued stability and prosperity in the face of an HIV/Aids pandemic which threatened the future of his country and people," Mr Annan said.


SOURCE: BBC