Blacklist
Input data of blacklists are reports from previous own SAFA Ramp Inspections and occasionally data from SAFA Ramp Inspections performed by other participating SAFA-States (basically all ECAC member states). Each country then evaluates the findings by a kind of Delphi Method (thus based on qualitative expert opinions). Theoretically SAFA is non-discriminatory. SAFA Ramp Inspection Reports strictly apply only to individual aircraft, that's why it is very hard to argue based on which evidence an airline as such should be banned, except a pattern of non-compliance can be shown in time. Confidence is key in aviation. Once the authorities find evidence that an airline is not taking swift corrective action when a non-compliance (regulatory, technical, operational etc.) has been identified, these authorities decide to prevent continuation of operations.
SAFA Ramp Inspections are random checks and are methodologically limited. Limitations are: time during turn-around is short, technical inspection external only etc. Advantages are (for experienced inspectors): direct observation of crew behavior and flight preparation management, unannounced. As the Flash Airline banning by Swiss Inspectors showed some years ago, SAFA methodology can be effective and actually prevent an accident by preventing an airline/charter to continue operation.
Blacklists are a political move, in my opinion, and not a safety device. Blacklists simply list those carriers, which lost their operating license in a determined country. The information content is nil. Only the format is new.
It is logically inconsistent to infer that an airline not listed on the blacklist would be safe, first we do not know whether this airline has ever been SAFA ramp inspected and second we do not know whether this banned airline has taken corrective action and didn't communicate it to the banning authority. That's why a white list as the italians publish makes more logical sense, but there the problems are the same, only inversely. To be on the white list doesn't mean the airline is STILL safe (if it ever was, because many SAFA Ramp Inspections are performed by not experienced inspectors or cover documentation only), since, as we all should know, airworthiness depends on continuous efforts and is not a static situation.
Finally, one word to the publishing of lists by CAAs at all: Publishing these lists undermines the no-blame approach for aviation safety, the civil aviation community has tried to preserve so far. Why should airlines/individuals continue cooperation with authorities, if they risk legal action of public denigration?
One more very final remark: safety is not a national issue, but an issue of sound financial management in the companies and thorough flight preparation (taking into account local specialties, which exist everywhere, not only in Africa).