11/10/2011
Implementing the APRM Views from Civil Society Reports: Process and Methodology Africa Forum on Civil Society and Governance Assessments 10 November 2011
Yarik Turianskyi (SAIIA) Yarik.Turianskyi@wits.ac.za
APRM Monitoring & Advocacy Template (AMAT) • AMP project team developed AMAT as a reporting template for use by civil society organisations to track – APRM National Programme of Action (NPoA) implementation – Overall APRM process status • Intended to complement and expand upon the NGC and government’s APRM Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) processes • 5 stages – – – – –
Desktop research Interviews Analysis, rating using the “robot” scale Identify priorities Advocacy strategy
• Aimed for a short, concise report
Background to AMP Reports • One-year project (July 2010-June 2011) • Key gap: Countries undergo the APRM, but national APRM implementation reports lack civil society voices & views, CSOs struggle to track progress, hold government and NGC accountable • AMP aims to empower CSOs to track progress on implementing the APRM, and jointly produce & publish a report, to complement national APRM monitoring & reporting efforts • Building on – – – –
SA and Lesotho launch event October 2010 SA training workshop January 2011/Lesotho training workshop March 2011 SA validation workshop May 2011/Lesotho validation workshop May 2011 SA report launch 28 June 28 2011/Lesotho report launch 13 September 2011
Methodology: differences • South Africa – Report divided into three thematic areas, with project managers responsible for each area – Process overseen by project head – Various CSOs (12 & more independent researchers) wrote submissions on specific issues – Mostly primary and secondary sources
• Lesotho – Report written by project head and two researchers – Mostly primary sources and interviews
Methodology: similarities • Reports do not cover all the APRM NPoA commitments • Training workshop participants identified crucial governance issues • Project team refined issues that made it into the final reports • Issues chosen were informed by relevance to the current governance situation and available expertise • For each issue, attempted to link it to the APRM objectives and NPoA items, describe the problem and present argument, use evidence & sources meticulously, make recommendations • CSOs asked to volunteer information and time • High level of participation and cooperation, tight timeframes
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Key Findings
Implementation of the NPoA: Link to the APRM: Overall rating:
Orange Minus Orange Minus
Engagement strategies • Media – Intention to reinvigorate the process with the reports and make them mediafriendly – SA report: over 50 local and international web and print articles; over 20 interviews, including BBC World, SABC, Talk Radio 702, E TV – Lesotho: interviewed by TV/radio station and main newspapers
• Government – APRM Focal point and government officials invited to all events in SA in Lesotho; – In SA: DPSA Minister and Focal Point Richard Baloyi delivered the keynote address at the launch event; DPSA officials attended training and validation workshop, but not the launch – In Lesotho: no government representation at workshop, but Focal Point attended and spoke at the launch – In SA: Focal Point sent three drafts of the report prior to publication – no response – In Lesotho: Focal Point sent early copy of the report – positive response
• Strong laws and institutions, weak implementation, compromise on orange ratings • Media not rated as not in CRR and NPoA, but issues are concerning • APRM has low visibility in South Africa and Lesotho, within government, civil society and media • Unclear how it informs policy • Marked overlap with government priorities and CSO activism and research
Why does APRM matter? • APRM was a costly and time-consuming exercise for SA and Lesotho • APRM has the potential to improve central planning and streamline governance initiatives • APRM NPoA implantation reports provide updates on governance progress, policy improvements and action item implementation • Currently the APRM in South Africa and Lesotho is not being utilised to it’s full potential and reporting has been weak
Contact Yarik Turianskyi Researcher: Governance and APRM Programme South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA +27-11-339-2021 Yarik.Turianskyi@wits.ac.za www.saiia.org.za Reports can be accessed electronically at: South Africa: http://www.saiia.org.za/images/stories/pubs/books/aprm_amp_report_sa_20110628.pdf Lesotho: http://www.saiia.org.za/images/stories/research/aprm/aprm_lesotho_amp_report_sept_2011.pdf
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