CAN THE APRM BE AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO MONITOR AGENDA 2063 AND THE SDGs?

The document explores the potential for the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to monitor Agenda 2063 and the SDGs, noting strong normative and thematic alignment. However, it identifies critical barriers, including administrative weaknesses, lack of funding, and slow review cycles, which currently render the APRM incapable of the extensive monitoring required. The authors suggest that for the APRM to succeed, it must undergo substantial reform, improve the frequency of its reviews, and enhance its data-gathering capabilities through ICT and partnerships.

• The APRM, Agenda 2063, and the SDGs share a compatible normative framework, all rejecting authoritarian development in favor of a democratic, participatory governance model.
• There is significant thematic overlap between the three initiatives, particularly regarding poverty, food security, health, education, gender equality, and environmental protection.
• The APRM is currently unable to meet the time-bound reporting requirements of the SDGs and Agenda 2063 due to its slow pace of conducting reviews.
• The APRM faces severe financial challenges, with many member states failing to pay annual subscriptions and a reliance on declining foreign donor funding.
• Administrative and leadership failures have hindered the APRM, including a seven-year period without a permanent CEO and allegations of maladministration.
• The APRM's current review outputs, specifically the Country Review Reports (CRRs), are too voluminous and lack the user-friendly narratives or quantitative indicators needed for effective monitoring.
• Political commitment to the APRM is inconsistent, with some countries controlling review outcomes and others showing a loss of interest after initial reviews.
• The APRM's commitment to broad participation by non-state actors is a key strength that could support the 'people-centred' goals of Agenda 2063 and the SDGs.
• To become an effective monitoring tool, the APRM needs to transition from large-scale base reviews to more frequent, theme-specific 'Development Reviews' supported by ICT.

APA

CORRIGAN, T., & GRUZD, S. (2017). CAN THE APRM BE AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO MONITOR AGENDA 2063 AND THE SDGs? South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Occasional-Paper-251.pdf

Chicago

CORRIGAN, TERENCE, and STEVEN GRUZD. CAN THE APRM BE AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO MONITOR AGENDA 2063 AND THE SDGs? South African Institute of International Affairs, 2017. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Occasional-Paper-251.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=CORRIGAN |first1=TERENCE |last2=GRUZD |first2=STEVEN |title=CAN THE APRM BE AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO MONITOR AGENDA 2063 AND THE SDGs? |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=February 2017 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Occasional-Paper-251.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{corrigan2017can, author = {CORRIGAN, TERENCE and GRUZD, STEVEN}, title = {{CAN THE APRM BE AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO MONITOR AGENDA 2063 AND THE SDGs?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2017}, month = feb, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Occasional-Paper-251.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }