Scoping Workshop: Development of Capacity in Civil Society to Track Implementation on the National APRM Programme

The statement outlines the architecture and status of South Africa's national APRM programme, emphasizing that civil society is the most critical component for ensuring the process's legitimacy. It identifies significant barriers to effective participation, including a lack of national ownership, limited access to information, and a critical shortage of financial resources, particularly for smaller NGOs. The document calls for collaborative strategies between government, business, and civil society to address these capacity gaps and align national performance targets with APRM goals.

• The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is a voluntary self-monitoring tool for African Union Member States, with 30 of 52 countries signed up by October 2010, aimed at promoting political stability, economic growth, and sustainable development.
• South Africa's national APRM architecture includes a Focal Point (the Minister in the Department of Public Service and Administration), an APRM Unit serving as the national secretariat, a National Governing Council, and Focal Points in provinces and departments.
• South Africa underwent a peer review in July 2007, leading to a national Plan of Action (PoA) and a Country Review Report in September 2007; the PoA was scheduled for review in 2012/13.
• Civil society is described as the most important part of the APRM process because it provides legitimacy and holds government and business accountable.
• Three primary challenges hinder South African civil society's participation in the APRM: inadequate national awareness (lack of ownership), insufficient and non-user-friendly information, and a lack of financial resources.
• Small NGOs are identified as the most vulnerable group, facing the greatest difficulties with funding and information access, which prevents the voices of the most vulnerable citizens from being heard.
• Broader continental challenges for civil society include misalignments in the interpretation of development programmes and a lack of alignment between national APRM agendas and the priorities of funding agencies.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2010). Scoping Workshop: Development of Capacity in Civil Society to Track Implementation on the National APRM Programme. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/aprm_spe_minister_baloyi.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Scoping Workshop: Development of Capacity in Civil Society to Track Implementation on the National APRM Programme. 2010. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/aprm_spe_minister_baloyi.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Scoping Workshop: Development of Capacity in Civil Society to Track Implementation on the National APRM Programme |date=12 October 2010 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/aprm_spe_minister_baloyi.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2010scoping, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Scoping Workshop: Development of Capacity in Civil Society to Track Implementation on the National APRM Programme}}, publisher = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2010}, month = oct, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/aprm_spe_minister_baloyi.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }