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

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APRM in the News

New Panel Chair and Mauritius Reviewed at APRM’s 13th Forum Meeting in Kampala, Uganda: The APRM’s 13th Summit of the Forum of Participating Heads of State and Government (the APR Forum) met on 24 July 2010 at Munyonyo on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda. Mauritius became the 13th country to be peer reviewed at heads of state level, over seven years after it first launched its national process. Algeria’s Professor Mohamed Seghir Babès was selected as the new chairperson of the APRM Panel of Eminent Persons with immediate effect, after Nigeria’s Professor Adebayo Adedeji announced his retirement from both the Panel and his post as chair. A document entitled “The Draft Operating Rules of Procedure of the APR Panel of Eminent Persons” – which was heavily criticised the day before by some APRM Focal Points (senior country officials) – will be discussed at the next Forum after wider consultations. South Africa again deferred the tabling of its annual National Programme of Action (NPOA) implementation report, to January 2011. No announcement was made regarding the posts advertised for a Chief Executive Officer, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, and Coordinator: Country Review Process at the APRM Secretariat.
Click here for APRM Gets New Leadership, Mauritius Finally Reviewed, but Reporting Slackens an opinion piece by SAIIA’s Steven Gruzd

“The APRM: Taking Peer Learning to the Next Level” workshop, 20-21 July 2010, Kampala, Uganda: This international workshop, aimed at African civil society organisations was jointly hosted by the Africa Governance Monitoring & Advocacy Programme (AfriMAP), the Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa (EISA), Institut Africain de la Gouvernance/Africa Governance Institute (IAG-AGI), Kituo Cha Katiba (Eastern Africa Centre for Constitutional Development (KCK)) and the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) at the Golf Course Hotel in Kampala, Uganda on 20-21 July 2010. Click here for the programme and keynote address by Bishop Dr D. Zac Niyiringiye, chairperson of Uganda’s APRM National Governing Council (NGC). The workshop focused on the types of peer learning that occurs (or should occur) at many different levels in the APRM – between heads of state, government officials, researchers and CSOs to name just some of the peer groups created by this process – and how this aspect of the APRM can be strengthened in the future. Over 100 people attended over two days, and a communiqué designed to feed into the APRM processes was developed and circulated. See press releases from the event.

Two New APRM Books Launched in Kampala: At the “APRM: Taking Peer Learning to the Next Level” workshop, two new books on the APRM were launched on 20 July. EISA’s Peering the Peers: Civil Society and the African Peer Review Mechanism, edited by Grant Masterson, Kojo Busia, and Adele Jinadu, is a volume of essays from leading civil society and governance experts in Africa that examines the critical role of civil society in the APRM. AfriMAP launched The African Peer Review Mechanism: A compilation of studies of the process in nine African countries. It is a compilation of reviews of the implementation of the APRM commissioned by the Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP) of the Open Society Foundations network. The reviews identify challenges that all stakeholders involved in reforming the APRM should be aware of and commit to resolving. It covers Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa.

APRM Publications from Around Africa: The Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) in Lusaka has published a policy briefing entitled The African Peer Review Mechanism: How to make the process a success in Zambia. The Uganda Governance Monitoring Platform (UGMP) has published Is Uganda on Track with Commitments in the APRM Process? A UGMP Annual Governance Status Report, in February 2010. It is an excellent example of how civil society can monitor national APRM commitments.

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Social Accountability in Africa: Practitioners’ Experiences and Lessons
Social Accountability in Africa: Practitioners’ Experiences and Lessons edited by Victoria Ayer, Mario Claasen and Carmen Alpín-Lardíes (Idasa & ANSA-Africa, 2010) is a collection of case studies from Africa on social accountability. This collection attempts to build a consolidated body of knowledge on social accountability efforts across the continent. The case studies are diverse and present unique approaches to how social accountability strategies and interventions are implemented within different countries. SAIIA was commissioned to undertake the initial research, editing and management of this book.
The APRM entry on Wikipedia needs updating – please supply the latest information.
A facebook group called A-Watch: Tracking the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has been established as an online forum for civil society across Africa and beyond to share information on the evolving APRM process. It now has over 120 members, but needs many more Click here to join.
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