Peer Review Mechanism held in Pretoria
10 September 2007
Government, civil society and business convened for the National Workshop of
the Programme of Action (POA) of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) at
the Reserve Bank Conference Centre in Pretoria today. The workshop chaired by
Minister for the Public Service and Administration Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi
outlined salient features of the country review report and the broad strategic
thrust of the POA. The key aim of the meeting was to map out how the POA will
be implemented as well as to clarify the role of each stakeholder in the
implementation phase.
The POA was approved by the Heads of State of the African Union following
the formal tabling of South Africa's country review report in July in Ghana,
Accra.
The workshop was divided into four thematic groups chaired by
representatives of government, business and civil society. The workshop focused
on ways in which the implementation of the programme of action could be
expedited.
Some of the key issues emerging in all the group discussions included an
acknowledgement that the POA could not be managed as 'business as usual.'
Additional implementation agencies needed to be identified in order to enhance
the quality of the programme. The workshop confirmed that the APRM POA presents
an opportunity to accelerate a number of priority issues.
The 'Democracy and Political Governance' theme agreed that the process of
social dialogue amongst all stakeholders needs to be strengthened so that
people are more aware of their rights. Other key priority issues identified are
crime particularly violence against women and children and the building of a
non-racial society.
In the Economic Governance thematic discussion, corruption was identified as
a key cross-cutting issue. Service delivery improvement was prioritised and the
civic services of home affairs in particular were identified as an area for
strengthening and improvement. Partnerships with civil society to improve
access to government services by vulnerable groups should be established. Job
creation was identified as another of the priority area along with a need to
strengthen public consultation around policy making.
In the Socio Economic thematic discussion there was consensus on the need to
improve data collection on the measurement of poverty and its effects. The
commission also highlighted the importance of land restitution settlement
support to ensure that land reform is sustainable and productive. The role of
agricultural unions and traditional leaders were recognised in this regard.
In the Corporate Governance thematic discussion, the adoption of good
business ethics inside and outside South Africa was an area identified in
ensuring corporations act as good corporate citizens. The role of
public-private-partnerships in transforming the second economy was
emphasised.
The meeting recognised that much work is already being done around the
implementation of the POA. In order to strengthen the partnership based
character of the POA four working groups consisting of government, civil
society, business and chapter 9 and 10 institutions were established to take
the work forward.
Issued by: Ministry of Public Service and Administration
10 September 2007
