Governance Perspectives is a monthly update published by the Governance and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). Governance Perspectives aims to contribute to a robust and informed debate on the nature of Africa's governance challenges and successes. We hope to keep civil society groups, researchers, governments and development partners informed about issues relating to governance, accountability and democracy. Each month, Governance Perspectives will feature SAIIA Occasional Papers as well as opinion articles, and links to interesting, relevant new material.
We hope that you will visit our website to subscribe in order to continue receiving this newsletter, and look forward to hearing your views. Steven Gruzd, programme head, APRM Programme, steven.gruzd@wits.ac.za
APRM in the News
12th APRM Forum Ends with Grumbles, and Four New Panel Members: On 30 January 2010, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Forum of Participating Heads of State and Government convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Click here for the official communiqué in English and French. Reports detailing the implementation of the APRM National Programme of Action were delivered for Burkina Faso and Uganda, but South Africa requested that its report be withdrawn. South Africa’s report is now expected to be presented at the mid-year Forum in Kampala, Uganda in July. Four new members of the APRM’s Panel of Eminent Persons were announced. Click here for brief biographies of the new Panel members, compiled by SAIIA. Controversially, on 29 January, the day preceding the Forum, some National APRM Focal Points – the key advisers to presidents on the APRM who perform a liaison function between the national and continental processes – expressed dissatisfaction about the governance of the APRM process. Click here for a view from the Ghanaian delegation. Click here for an analysis of the Forum and its decisions by SAIIA, originally published in City Press on 7 February and in modified form by AllAfrica.com on 15 February.
Nepad Becomes an AU Agency: Following many years of discussion, the 14th AU Summit on 1 February 2010 approved the establishment of the Nepad Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA). This “technical body” of the AU will replace the current Nepad Secretariat. According to a Nepad press release, “The NPCA is mandated to facilitate and coordinate the implementation of continental and regional priority programmes and projects and to mobilise resources and partners in support of their implementation.” The NPCA falls under the authority of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC). It is expected that the body will however continue to be physically located in Midrand, South Africa. See the Nepad website.
Events
Preparing Djibouti for Peer Review: On 27-28 January 2010, a successful workshop was held in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa to prepare that country’s government for the APRM and to help them develop a national policy monitoring programme. The event was organised jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Secretariat General of Government, with support from the UNDP’s Oslo Governance Centre and the UNDP office in Djibouti. SAIIA and DIAL, a French development research institute, were requested to facilitate several sessions. Click here for a press report in French on the UNDP Djibouti website.
APRM Fast-Tracking and Streamlining Process Gathers Steam: On 17-18 February 2010, a workshop was held in Sandton, South Africa by the APRM Secretariat and the APRM’s Strategic Partners (the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), African Development Bank (ADB) and United Nations Development Programme, for the five think tanks and consultancies selected to assist in improving the APRM Self-Assessment Questionnaire and developing a monitoring and reporting system. SAIIA is privileged to have been chosen to work on the Economic Governance and Management Section of the Questionnaire.
Off Track? Findings from South Africa’s First APRM Implementation Report
by Yarik Turianskyi
SAIIA Occasional Paper, No 53, January 2010
Download - English [.pdf]
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Untangling the Nets: The Governance of Tanzania’s Marine Fisheries
by Mariam January and Honest Prosper Ngowi
SAIIA Research Report, No 5, February 2010
Download - English [.pdf]
Read more
Will Oil Build or Break the Back of Ghana’s Democracy?
by Ross Harvey
SAIIA Policy Briefing, No 14, January 2010
Download - English [.pdf]
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Africa Needs its own ‘G-Club’ to Meet the Challenges at Home and Globally
by Stefan Mair
SAIIA Policy Briefing, No 12, January 2010
Download - English [.pdf]
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China’s Engagement with the Nigerian Oil Sector
by Gregory Mthembu-Salter
SAIIA Policy Briefing, No 11, November 2009
Download - English [.pdf]
Read more
African developments: continental integration in Africa - AU, NEPAD and the APRM,
Grimm, Sven / George Katito (2010),
Bonn: Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik / German Development Institute, (Briefing Paper 4/2010)
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The South African Journal of International Affairs seeks article submissions focused on Africa's (and South Africa's) international relations, and key governance and developmental challenges. African scholars are especially encouraged to make submissions. Articles should be 5000 to 8000 words long, employing endnotes for referencing. All submissions will be subject to a blind peer review, and articles must not be simultaneously under consideration for publication elsewhere. Please forward an abstract of the article to the Editor, Martha Bridgman, at sajia.editor@saiia.org.za or on CD in MS Word format via post to:
SAJIA,
PO Box 31596,
Braamfontein,
2017, South Africa.
Authors of successful abstracts will be notified with regard to submission of a full article.
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SAIIA’s online APRM Toolkit has been redesigned and updated with the latest information on the APRM, including several SAIIA Occasional Papers, relevant research reports, several academic papers on the APRM as well as the APR Country Review Reports of Algeria and Benin. We plan to update the APRM Toolkit on a monthly basis so please check back regularly. If you have written a paper on the APRM or governance matters in Africa and would like to share it, please email yarik.turianskyi@wits.ac.za with the subject line "APRM Toolkit'.
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SAIIA Ranked Top Think Tank in Sub-Saharan Africa
The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) has been ranked the best think tank for 2009 in southern and sub-Saharan Africa in the annual international survey conducted by the University of Pennsylvania in the United States. The survey identified some 503 think tanks in the sub-Saharan region.
Read more
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If you would like to submit an original, unpublished, governance-related manuscript for possible inclusion in the SAIIA Occasional Paper series, please email steven.gruzd@wits.ac.za
Opinions expressed in papers and articles are those of their authors, and not SAIIA.
SAIIA gratefully acknowledges the Royal Netherlands Embassy in South Africa, which has generously supported the Governance & APRM Programme and this series.
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