Addressing the APRM’s Programmes of Action

(SAIIA)--Ms Faten Aggad carefully analyses the Programmes of Action (PoAs) that are developed during the peer review process, drawing on the experiences of the first six countries to be reviewed - Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, Algeria, South Africa and Benin. She traces the development of the PoA, and examines the extent to which the recommendations made by the APR’s Panel of Eminent Persons are incorporated into the final version of the PoA. She explores what value PoAs could add in an already-crowded policy environment, and offers recommendations for making these documents more strategic and effective.

As the set of plans to address the governance gaps identified in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)
process and highlighted in the Panel’s recommendations, the APRM’s Programmes of Action (PoAs) deserve careful
consideration.

Analysis reveals that most peer recommendations were ignored when the first six African countries came to
write their PoA. In the case of South Africa, of 182 recommendations from a panel of eminent persons only 60 % were included. In the case of Rwanda, about 90% were ignored. Furthermore, too often, participants confused objectives – an end - with actions, a means to an end. Complex goals requiring a range of solutions were sometimes dealt with as though a single action could resolve things. Priorities, clearer time frames and measurability needed to be introduced.

The mere fact that this analysis reveals some gaps does not mean the exercise was wasted, since it served to
bring issues into the public arena. Official processes are underway to correct these procedural and content-related
concerns. Therefore, as a contribution to ideas and perspectives to ongoing efforts to refine the PoA process, this paper provides practical recommendations. These include: the need for greater prioritisation, using measurable indicators and improved integration of existing national plans into the PoA.

Faten Aggad is a researcher on the Governance and APRM Programme at the South African Institute of International
Affairs (SAIIA).

* To read the whole report. please go to:

http://www.saiia.org.za/images/stories/

pubs/sops/saia_sop_05_aggad_20080702_en.pdf

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