• Sub-Saharan Africa
• Analysis, scores and results
• African Peer Review Mechanism

Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper analyses the impact of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). It examines the APRM’s relationship with the African Union (AU), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) and other governance initiatives beyond the continent. The paper argues that despite several challenges the APRM has evolved as a key building block in Africa’s governance architecture and made many notable achievements.

The paper finds that although the AU took the decision to establish the APRM, not all AU member states are strong supporters of the process. The APRM has struggled in developing its rules and systems, gaining the confidence of leaders, citizens and donors, and has faced administrative difficulties. It is still not deeply engrained or universally accepted, and its voluntary nature is at odds with many AU programmes and processes that are all-inclusive.

Connections among the AU, Nepad and the APRM are generally strained, suggesting that better communication and co-ordination would be beneficial. A 2008 agreement for South Africa to host the APRM is expected to bring the APRM closer to the AU, but it is unclear whether this will increase or reduce the APRM’s credibility and independence.

Although the process can identify problems it cannot enforce solutions; similarly, it can identify ‘best practice’ in individual countries, but cannot ensure that others learn from it, and there is not enough evidence that peer pressure is working. The process has however contributed to democracy by widening political space and involving more citizens.

While some critics suggest the mechanism panders to donor whims, others disagree stressing the APRM was invented by Africans for Africans to move forward on democracy, governance, peace and security on their own terms at their own pace through a peer learning process, and that the APRM is ultimately about domestic accountability as opposed to external accountability.

The APRM’s successes include:

• it has attracted more than half of Africa’s states, representing three-quarters of its people, to voluntarily accede to self-imposed scrutiny in a commitment to improving governance systems, policies and developmental practices
  
• a third of the presidents have been reviewed by their peers and countries that have undergone review have begun to struggle with financing and implementing their programmes of action and integrating them into other ongoing national development initiatives. Political space for policy input and more tolerance of differences of opinion are being nurtured

The paper concludes that the APRM is not a panacea but it is imperative that the mechanism demonstrates success and incremental progress, so as to maintain faith and interest in it. Much will depend on the role that African leadership plays in steering the process.

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