BOTSWANA APRM POPULAR SENSITISATION (BAPS) INFORMATION WORKSHOP REPORT

The report details a sensitisation project in Botswana led by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO). Key activities included a workshop for 20 civil society organisations (CSOs) on 10 March 2020, where participants discussed the APRM's potential to depoliticise socio-economic criticism and the risks of an 'implementation deficit' regarding National Programmes of Action (NPoA). The project identified a need for additional funding to ensure representation of CSOs outside the capital, Gaborone, to avoid the lack of national coverage experienced in a similar Namibian project. Meetings were held with the Botswana government, including the Director of Governance in the Office of the President, who admitted the country is "still far behind" in APRM implementation. Consultations with international partners like the European Union, the British High Commission, and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung focused on securing funding and aligning the project with donor objectives. The report also notes meetings with the University of Botswana and the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) to foster collaboration between academia, government, and civil society.

• Civil society participants viewed the APRM as a tool to depoliticise the criticism of government programmes, allowing CSOs to voice concerns as a collective body to avoid being labelled as "unpatriotic".
• There is significant concern regarding the "implementation deficit" in African countries, including Botswana, where governments may fail to deliver on commitments in their National Programme of Action (NPoA) due to a lack of established enforcement mechanisms.
• Lessons from a similar project in Namibia highlighted the risk of poor national representation; CSOs outside the capital, Windhoek, could not participate due to lack of funds, a challenge the BAPS project aims to avoid in Botswana by seeking funding for CSOs outside Gaborone.
• The Director of Governance in the Office of the President acknowledged that Botswana is lagging in the implementation of the APRM and anticipates challenges in gathering the necessary resources.
• Potential reasons for Botswana's delay in acceding to the APRM include the government's belief that existing high rankings in governance surveys made the APRM redundant, a desire not to be used as a comparative yardstick, and the foreign policy approach of former President Ian Khama.
• The British High Commission indicated that funding for the project would be more feasible if it aligned with their specific objectives, such as biodiversity and environmental issues in Botswana.

APA

Zikalala, N. M. (2020). BOTSWANA APRM POPULAR SENSITISATION (BAPS) INFORMATION WORKSHOP REPORT. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/BAPS-Sensitisation-Project-2020-March-Trip-Report-final.pdf

Chicago

Zikalala, Nhlakanipho Macmillan. BOTSWANA APRM POPULAR SENSITISATION (BAPS) INFORMATION WORKSHOP REPORT. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2020. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/BAPS-Sensitisation-Project-2020-March-Trip-Report-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Zikalala |first1=Nhlakanipho Macmillan |title=BOTSWANA APRM POPULAR SENSITISATION (BAPS) INFORMATION WORKSHOP REPORT |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=13 March 2020 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/BAPS-Sensitisation-Project-2020-March-Trip-Report-final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{zikalala2020botswana, author = {Zikalala, Nhlakanipho Macmillan}, title = {{BOTSWANA APRM POPULAR SENSITISATION (BAPS) INFORMATION WORKSHOP REPORT}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/BAPS-Sensitisation-Project-2020-March-Trip-Report-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }