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The paper argues that foreign direct investment in Africa is often driven by natural resources rather than good governance or low corruption. While countries with poor governance rankings often attract significant FDI, the author contends that sound governance is necessary for long-term resource management and sustainable economic growth.

The author contends that Nigeria's implementation of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has been marred by government manipulation, poor planning around election cycles, and the exclusion of independent civil society. The paper suggests that the transition to President Yar’adua's administration provides an opportunity to restore the process's credibility by removing government control over the Country Self-Assessment Report (CSAR) and the Programme of Action (PoA).

The report identifies political instability, crumbling infrastructure, a severe credit crunch, and the absence of the rule of law as the primary barriers to African economic development. It argues that while large-scale projects are often prioritized, the immediate economic payoff lies in the regular maintenance of existing transport and utility services and the reform of legal systems to protect property rights and enforce contracts. The document highlights a critical funding gap, noting that while Africa requires $64 billion in investments to meet growth targets, donors provide only about $14 billion annually. Corruption is identified as a pervasive corrosive force, with 52% of surveyed business organisations stating that bribes are necessary to open a business.

The report identifies a disconnect between government priorities and the needs of the business sector in Africa, highlighting corruption and infrastructure failure as primary barriers to growth. Based on dialogues with 56 business organisations and five studies, it asserts that stability in Africa is dependent on prosperity, which requires improvements in property rights, the rule of law, and power reliability.

The document reports on a growing crisis of credibility for the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), highlighting a significant gap between its visionary rhetoric and the actual implementation of projects. While some officials point to broader African progress and increased aid, critics, including the President of Senegal, argue that the NEPAD Secretariat has failed to deliver concrete results. Data from the African Development Bank reveals that a minority of infrastructure projects under the Short Term Action Plan (STAP) are being implemented. The text identifies several barriers to success, including a lack of regional capacity, failure to conduct feasibility studies, donor skepticism regarding unrealistic funding requests, and internal issues such as corruption and mismanagement.

The report details a scoping workshop held in Johannesburg in October 2010 to launch the APRM Monitoring Project (AMP). The project seeks to empower civil society organisations (CSOs) in Southern Africa to track the implementation of National Programmes of Action (NPoA) through the APRM Monitoring & Advocacy Template (AMAT). The workshop identified challenges such as limited CSO resources, low public visibility of the APRM, and the need for collaborative rather than antagonistic relationships with governments. Lessons from Uganda's NGO Forum highlighted the value of aligning APRM monitoring with existing governance networks. The workshop concluded with a consensus on the need for an independent, inclusive, and grassroots-oriented review process.

Since 1994, South Africa has acted as a primary catalyst for African integration, leveraging its economic dominance and diplomatic efforts to promote the 'African Renaissance'. While it leads in conflict resolution and institutional building through the AU and SADC, it faces tensions regarding its perceived 'big brother' role and a persistent trade imbalance with other African states. Its global role involves representing African interests in the G20 and UN Security Council, though its moral authority is sometimes undermined by a reluctance to criticize fellow African leaders, specifically in Zimbabwe.

The report examines the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), an African self-monitoring tool for governance, democracy, and human rights adopted under the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad). Based on a five-year research project by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), the text analyzes the rules, national governance, and research processes of the APRM. It specifically focuses on the experiences of five pioneer countries—Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Mauritius, and South Africa—to identify the political dynamics and the role of civil society in making the process credible. The document argues that the APRM represents a 'governance revolution' in Africa, shifting from post-independence rule by decree toward accountability and transparency.

The report analyzes the early experiences of countries implementing the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), highlighting critical gaps in national governance, technical research, and the formulation of actionable reform plans. It argues that while the self-assessment phase often generates sound analysis, the resulting Programmes of Action (POAs) are frequently superficial and lack the detail necessary for effective implementation and monitoring. The authors provide a set of best practices for research, public consultation, and the creation of more rigorous, costed, and prioritized POAs to ensure the mechanism leads to substantive governance improvements.

The report analyzes the World Bank's 'country systems' (CS) approach, where the Bank relies on a borrower country's laws and institutions instead of its own safeguard policies. The author finds that the pilot projects have failed to create enduring, legally binding improvements in national laws, often relying on short-term fixes. The report argues that this approach weakens environmental and social standards, reduces transparency, and creates hurdles for communities attempting to use the Bank's Inspection Panel for accountability. It specifically criticizes the Bank's 'Safeguard Diagnostic Reviews' (SDRs) for lacking transparency and failing to realistically assess institutional capacity. Consequently, the report warns that the Bank's plan to accelerate this to a 'country-wide' pilot program is premature and recommends an independent public review and stricter transparency requirements.

The document explains the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) as a voluntary process for African governments and citizens to assess governance and implement reforms. It outlines a five-step methodology for civil society organisations (CSOs) to create effective written submissions: identifying a focused issue, gathering evidence from diverse sources, developing persuasive arguments, building consensus through circulation, and submitting to the correct official bodies. The guide emphasises that evidence-backed submissions are more impactful than oral presentations and provides examples of successful advocacy by groups in Uganda and South Africa.

The report argues that South Africa's current account deficit is sustainable and driven by net capital inflows that foster necessary structural change. It cautions against using currency depreciation, selective industrial policy (NIPF), or trade barriers to address the deficit, suggesting instead that the government focus on removing microeconomic bottlenecks in infrastructure and education to boost productivity.

The 'Integrating Climate and Development' project, running from March 2008 to December 2009, aims to fill the gap in concrete analysis regarding the integration of climate policies into development plans. Focusing on Thailand as part of a global initiative, the project employs national expert teams and multi-stakeholder steering committees to identify climate strategies consistent with sustainable development. The final output consists of national and regional synthesis studies detailing strategic options for the involved countries and regions.

The document argues that Africa's regional integration efforts have largely failed because they were based on an ideological Pan-Africanist model that prioritised politics over economics and ignored the necessity of domestic stability. The author contends that continental success is impossible without first achieving national success through bold economic reforms, the rule of law, and democratisation. While some Regional Economic Communities (RECs) like Comesa and the EAC show promise, the paper highlights systemic hurdles including overlapping memberships, weak institutional capacity, and a lack of political will to cede sovereignty. It advocates for 'developmental regionalism'—focusing on infrastructure and supply-side constraints—and an outward-looking approach that attracts foreign direct investment (FDI) and integrates Africa into the global market.

The paper evaluates whether global adaptation funds are 'technically adequate' by measuring the adherence of the GEF and its Implementing Agencies (IAs) to guidance from the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP). It concludes that the funds are technically inadequate due to complex design and poor implementation, which forces developing countries to 'adapt their projects' to fit available funding rather than the other way around.

The author contends that Africa's 14 regional economic communities are largely ineffective due to a lack of funding, staff, and political commitment. Using the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as a primary example, the text highlights how vague strategic documents like the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) fail to assign clear responsibility for implementation. The author suggests that national leaders may prefer weak regional bodies to avoid conflict and concludes that these organisations must adopt the same transparency and accountability standards required of national governments to eliminate inefficiency and corruption.

The report examines China's development policy in Africa, highlighting its shift from political goals to economic priorities, specifically energy security and market expansion. It contrasts China's 'non-interference' approach with Western conditionality, noting that China's willingness to engage with 'rogue states' provides it a comparative advantage in securing resources. While critics argue this undermines governance and debt relief, the authors suggest that China's presence breaks the traditional 'aid cartel' and may encourage G8 donors to improve aid effectiveness. The report recommends that Western donors integrate China into a collaborative development strategy rather than demonising its approach.

The document outlines the strategic cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Africa, focusing on the EU Strategy for Africa and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). It emphasizes the need for increased aid effectiveness, infrastructural development via the EU-Africa Infrastructure Partnership, and the creation of a Joint EU-Africa Strategy. Key priorities include poverty reduction, governance, peace and security, and energy cooperation, while highlighting the importance of African ownership of development strategies.

The report defines network sustainability as a network's ability to function until it achieves its goals, its members lose the will or ability to continue, or it becomes irrelevant. It identifies four dimensions of sustainability—time, resources, relationships, and relevance—and argues that long-term viability depends on strategic, internal, external, and financial management, as well as the adaptive capacity to manage change.

The briefing argues that ZANU-PF has used its two-thirds parliamentary majority to entrench power through constitutional amendments and the 'securitisation' of civilian institutions. It highlights 'Operation Murambatsvina' as a violent urban crackdown that displaced hundreds of thousands of people, which the author suggests was politically motivated to crush opposition support. The report details the dominance of the Zezuru faction within the government and the severe economic collapse of the country, characterized by hyperinflation and a contracting GDP. It concludes that the regime's reliance on military force and patronage networks undermines democracy and human rights, while international efforts for reform, including South African 'quiet diplomacy' and Chinese engagement, have failed to produce a positive transition.