Reckoning with the APRM recommendations

This research paper evaluates the quality of recommendations provided in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) reports for six pioneer countries, arguing that while the reports identify governance problems effectively, they often fail to provide actionable, concrete policy guidance.

• The APRM reports for the six pioneer countries—Algeria, Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa—are adequate at identifying governance problems but provide recommendations that are often insufficient for policy guidance.
• Recommendations in the APRM reports frequently suffer from three main weaknesses: they are often too vague to be actionable, use ambiguous terms like 'strengthen' without providing specific policy guidance, or are overly aspirational and idealistic.
• Specific examples of inadequate recommendations include Algeria being told to be a "flag bearer in regional integration" without clear instructions, Rwanda being urged to "(strengthen) the right of access by citizens to administrative documents and information", and Ghana being encouraged to "engage holistically with corruption".
• To improve the utility of the APRM, the author suggests strengthening the 'peer review' process by having heads of state collectively develop solutions, outsourcing problem-solving to universities, policy institutes, and NGOs, or recommending further research when solutions are not apparent.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2009). Reckoning with the APRM recommendations. https://saiia.org.za/research/reckoning-with-the-aprm-recommendations/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Reckoning with the APRM recommendations. 2009. https://saiia.org.za/research/reckoning-with-the-aprm-recommendations/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Reckoning with the APRM recommendations |date=6 May 2009 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/reckoning-with-the-aprm-recommendations/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2009reckoning, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Reckoning with the APRM recommendations}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2009}, month = may, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/reckoning-with-the-aprm-recommendations/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }