African Solutions

The report examines the role of 'best practices' in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an African Union instrument designed to improve governance through voluntary peer review. Analyzing 12 Country Review Reports (CRRs), the authors identify 146 practices across four themes: democracy and political governance, economic governance and management, corporate governance, and socio-economic development. The document argues that while the APRM lacks a clear conceptual definition of 'best practices,' these identified successes are essential for fostering 'African solutions to African problems' and providing non-coercive incentives for governance reform.

• The APRM lacks a comprehensive and clear conceptual definition of 'best practices' across its core documents, often using the term aspirationally or interchangeably with 'standards' without providing systematic guidelines for identification or dissemination.
• An analysis of 12 published Country Review Reports (CRRs) identified a total of 146 best and good practices. The highest number of these were found in democracy and political governance (50), followed by economic governance and management (35), socio-economic development (35), and corporate governance (26).
• Best practices in democracy and political governance are categorized into three types: those that genuinely improve governance, those that simply conform to agreed codes, and those that serve as 'bragging pieces'.
• Economic governance best practices within the APRM are found to be consistent with the 'Washington Consensus' macroeconomic policy options, although they have been adapted to the African context.
• In the area of corporate governance, identified best practices are primarily business-enabling or development initiatives, reflecting a general lack of corporate governance awareness in Africa.
• Many practices identified as 'best practices' in the socio-economic development theme do not meet the full technical requirements of the definition, with only nine of 35 being considered full, legitimate best practices.
• Because the APRM is voluntary and its results are non-binding, best practices serve as a critical non-coercive tool for 'peer pressure' by providing successful templates that incentivize countries to reform without relying on external aid conditionalities.

APA

Petlane, T., & Gruzd, S. (2011). African Solutions. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/aprm_african_solutions_intro_chapter_nov_2011.pdf

Chicago

Petlane, Tšoeu, and Steven Gruzd. African Solutions. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2011. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/aprm_african_solutions_intro_chapter_nov_2011.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Petlane |first1=Tšoeu |last2=Gruzd |first2=Steven |title=African Solutions |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=2011 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/aprm_african_solutions_intro_chapter_nov_2011.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{petlane2011african, author = {Petlane, Tšoeu and Gruzd, Steven}, title = {{African Solutions}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2011}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/aprm_african_solutions_intro_chapter_nov_2011.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }