SA’s APRM Country Review Report to be launched

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to attend the 20th anniversary celebration of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to be held in Johannesburg, on Tuesday evening.

“The APRM 20th Anniversary is being celebrated through a series of meetings and events from 10 to 14 December 2023 under the theme ‘Accelerating and Deepening Governance Reform, Measures, and Intervention,” the Presidency said in a statement.

The review mechanism is an institution of the African Union voluntarily acceded to by Member States.

The anniversary event includes the participation of current and former Heads of State and Government; the Chairperson of the African Union Commission; high-ranking officials from the African Union Commission; representatives of APRM governing structures, as well as delegates of African Union organs and entities, international organisations and civil society.

The event will also mark the launch of the South Africa Second Generation Country Review Report.

“The South African Second-Generation Country Review Report will give insights into the progress made by South Africa in various areas, highlighting its successes and identifying areas for improvement as per its recommendations.

“The review process involves an in-depth analysis of a country’s policies, institutions, and practices, conducted by a team of African experts,” the statement read.

The Presidency explained that the APRM serves as an “African-owned and African-led platform for self-assessment, peer-learning, and experience sharing in democracy and good governance”.

The mechanism, the Presidency added, promotes transparency, accountability and the sharing of best practices among African Union Member States in the following thematic areas:

• democratic and political governance
• economic management and governance
• corporate governance
• socio-economic development
• state resilience

“Since its inception, the mechanism has recorded a number of achievements including deepening democracy and good governance through its unique process of peer reviews and assessments.

“The review processes have strengthened the participation of citizens in governance matters and fostered peer-to-peer engagements at the level of Heads of State and Government. In this way the Mechanism has become a means of realising the sacrosanct principle of African solutions to African problems.

“The Mechanism fosters the adoption of policies, standards and practices that enable political stability, high economic growth, sustainable and inclusive development and accelerated regional and continental economic integration. This is enabled through the sharing of experiences and data,” the statement read. – SAnews.gov.za