African peer review: progress is being made but there are problems

The African Peer Review Mechanism, established in 2003 to improve governance through voluntary peer review, experienced a period of decline between 2008 and 2016 marked by leadership vacancies and financial mismanagement. While recent reforms under the 'Three Rs Strategy' and the 2018 incorporation into the African Union as a specialised agency have revitalized the process and expanded its mandate to track Agenda 2063 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, significant hurdles remain. These include the failure to release country reports on time, a lack of political will to 'name and shame' poor performers, and dwindling attendance of heads of state at forums.

• The African Peer Review Mechanism suffered a significant decline between 2008 and 2016, during which the secretariat lacked a permanent CEO, conducted few reviews, and faced allegations of financial mismanagement. This period saw a total cessation of state reviews between 2013 and 2016.
• Under the leadership of CEO Professor Eddy Maloka and the stewardship of President Uhuru Kenyatta, the mechanism was revitalized through the "Three Rs Strategy" (restoration, reinvigoration and renewal), leading to increased membership and restored faith in the process.
• In 2018, reforms by President Paul Kagame transitioned the mechanism into a specialised agency of the African Union with an expanded mandate to track the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 for 38 members and other continental countries.
• Despite recent progress, the mechanism struggles with political reluctance to publish reports and a lack of transparency. Reports for Senegal are two years late, while those for Sudan and Uganda are over a year late. Additionally, the African Governance Report avoids naming specific countries, reflecting an unwillingness to 'name and shame' laggards.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2019). African peer review: progress is being made but there are problems. https://saiia.org.za/research/african-peer-review-progress-is-being-made-but-there-are-problems/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. African peer review: progress is being made but there are problems. 2019. https://saiia.org.za/research/african-peer-review-progress-is-being-made-but-there-are-problems/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=African peer review: progress is being made but there are problems |date=15 March 2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/african-peer-review-progress-is-being-made-but-there-are-problems/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2019african, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{African peer review: progress is being made but there are problems}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/african-peer-review-progress-is-being-made-but-there-are-problems/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }