S Moloto: Limpopo African Peer Review Mechanism conference

30 June 2006

Programme director
Executive Mayor of Capricorn District Municipality
Chairperson of the APRM Provincial Governing Council MEC Dr Aaron
Motsoaledi
Members of the Provincial Governing Council
Representatives of the APRM National Governing Council
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

Today’s event is a proud moment in the history of the continent and our
country in particular. This Provincial APRM conference is one of the many
platforms that are in place to build consensus on the way-forward in order to
extricate the continent from decades-old legacies of colonialism, Apartheid,
Structural Adjustment Programmes and shortcomings of the policies pursued by
many African countries in the post-independence era.

With the advent of the African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for
Africa’s Development (NEPAD) in the last five years, a lot of positive
developments have taken place in the continent. The African Peer Review
Mechanism (APRM) is one such bold measure that our continent has embarked upon
to correct the inadequacies of centuries old legacies of powerlessness and
dispossession. The APRM is a system introduced by the African Union to help
countries improve their political, social, corporate and economic governance in
ways that bring about social stability, economic growth and development in the
continent. Simply put; it is a way of looking at ourselves, by examining our
collective weaknesses, opportunities and challenges while taking into account
our current circumstances and where we are headed to as countries of the
continent.

In this way, the APRM process affords us the opportunity to improve the way
we govern our municipalities, our provinces and countries through peer
evaluation methods and self policing. The APRM does this by giving our people a
chance to voice their feelings around four main themes which are; democracy and
political governance, economic management, corporate governance and
socio-economic development.

At the heart of APRM initiative is the understanding that people are their
own liberators who deserve to participate actively in their own governance.
This comes out clearer in the Country self assessment report, which is a result
of extensive consultation with the people. This is why we have got no doubts in
expressing that, despite its shortcomings, this report is truly legitimate and
reflects the collective views of the people of our country. This is a lesson we
have drawn from the consultative way in which the Freedom Charter was drafted
and propagated, as the collective blue-print of transformation for the people
of South Africa.

We are equally delighted that the compilation of our Country self assessment
report resembles this spirit; and has taken cue from the Freedom charter’s way
of consultation, which reflects our desire and commitment to upholding
democratic principles and values.

Given this background, it is clear that the APRM is an important catalyst of
change, which resonates with other developmental communication initiatives;
such as Izimbizo programme, Executive Council (EXCO) meets the people and the
Community Development Work (CDW) programme. However, it is important that we
dispel myths that the APRM is just another academic or public relations
exercise, meant only to satisfy requirements of conventions and treaties
between countries. This is why we must constantly emphasize the importance of
implementing the Programme of Action (PoA) which is the next stage we will have
to embark upon after presentation of this report.

Further than this, the final Country self assessment report would still
present our Government and particularly the African Union (AU) with a body of
knowledge, which is useful for providing early warning signs against possible
conflict scenarios or epidemics and other catastrophic challenges that may need
to be averted in the future.

Programme director

Our approach from the beginning has always been to get as many stakeholders
as possible to be involved in the process. We saw this as an important
ingredient for making the entire process transparent, legitimate and
participative. This stems from our determination to see our province, our
country and the continent succeed against odds.

It is in this spirit that we would like to take this opportunity to thank
civil society bodies and organisations that deemed it fit to participate in all
APRM sectoral summits in the province from the beginning. These include
representatives of Trade unions, Business people, Religious formations, Women,
Youth, Civic associations and Traditional leaders. Through the participation of
these bodies, our province was able to compile a detailed Provincial APRM
report, which is now part of the final draft of our Country self assessment
report.

This spirit of partnership resonates with the words of President Thabo Mbeki
in his address in 2003 in Addis Ababa on the occasion of the 40th anniversary
of the OAU, when he said:
“Our vision of a stable, secure and prosperous Africa depends on viable and
effective partnerships between government, civil society formations and
business as well as bilateral and multilateral partnerships among the
governments of Africa.”

It is this spirit that will see us through in building a successful country
and Continent that knows neither hunger nor starvation. As you will observe
while studying the report, there are clearly many unmitigated inputs of
respondents from our Province and this confirm the fact that people’s views
have indeed been taken on board. The challenge as we have already said is to
ensure that corrective action does get enforced during implementation
stage.

Once again, we must thank Councillors and Ward committees for their sterling
work in galvanising communities to get involved; while also not forgetting to
congratulate the outstanding work done by our Community Development Workers
(CDWs) who travelled the length and breadth of our province soliciting views
from the people. The achievements of our CDWs in this regard confirm the
importance of their status as service delivery foot-soldiers of our
communities. Your hard work and collective contribution to this process confirm
the fact that, APRM is well and alive in Limpopo.

It is again our wish that deliberations in this conference would enrich the
quality of the Country’s self assessment report and helps all our leaders to
govern well, in both public and private spheres.

I thank you.

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Limpopo Provincial Government
30 June 2006