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4 July 2007

President Thabo Mbeki met with his peers at the 7th Summit of the African Peer Review Forum in Accra, Ghana this week to present South Africa's response to the APR Panel's Country Review Report.

President Mbeki welcomed the Review Report and commended members of the Panel for their hard work and dedication to the process. He noted that it is a positive report that acknowledges the huge strides made by South Africa in transforming the country into a vibrant democracy with one of the most progressive Constitutions in the world.

The Review Report identified 18 South African best practices worthy of emulation. They include Co-operative Governance, popular participatory governance practices, Batho Pele, Multi-Purpose Community Centres, the highly consultative Budget Formulation Process, achievements of the South African Revenue Services, the Johannesburg Securities Exchange, the JSE and Triple Bottom Line Reporting, the Mzansi Account for the un-banked, the Financial Service Charter, the King Reports, self-reliance in development funding, provision of basic needs and socio-economic rights and the successful promotion of gender equality in the public sphere.

The President expressed South Africa's appreciation for the extensive engagement with the Panel and its secretariat around the Programme of Action (POA), which has incorporated most of the Report's key recommendations. Key elements of the POA are briefly highlighted below.

The President stressed that South Africa and the Panel are of one mind on the centrality of governance and the soundness of the democratic framework that has been built over the last 13 years.

The African Peer Review Member States strongly endorsed the process that South Africa undertook in completing the Country Self-Assessment Report. Member States agreed that South Africa's process was inclusive, participatory and innovative. For its part, the Panel commended South Africa for meeting the tight timeframes required by the APRM guidelines in a participatory and transparent manner.

The innovative approach included shortening the questionnaire and its translation into all languages, inviting research institutions to participate as partners, the validation process of the 2nd National Conference, involvement of civil society through the SA Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOC) chapter, the establishment of Provincial Governing Councils, the role of Community Development Workers in enhancing popular participation in the APRM process, the use of outside broadcasts, the APRM song and blitzes in taxi ranks and major street corners to popularise the APRM process.

South Africa raised concerns around the panel's methodological approach. President Mbeki emphasised that the concerns were raised in the spirit of peer review and genuine debate and dialogue, but did not amount to a rejection of the report. Indeed the concerns were raised in order to strengthen the process as a genuine peer review exercise. The panel and the Heads of State and Government concurred with South Africa's observations.

In the area of Democracy and Political Governance, the POA contains actions to deal with amongst others: racism, sexism marginalisation, crime, lack of awareness, poor access to information, impairing the full enjoyment of human rights; the need for active engagement of all communities in the fight against crime and violence, the need to fight corruption and build a national integrity system. With respect to Economic Governance and management, the POA addresses issues of: inadequate public consultation, education and feedback in policy making; underdeveloped capacity and skills; blockages to service delivery; lack of deeper economic integration within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and unemployment.

With respect to Corporate Governance, the POA contains actions to address the following challenges: company legislation not being transformative and requiring review; the underdevelopment of key institutions and certain social groups; the failure by consumers and shareholders to assert their rights and the need to develop strong corporate governance in civil society organisations.

Finally, in the area of Socio-Economic Development, the POA addresses: the need to build consensus amongst stakeholders on definitions and measurements of poverty; the need for more effective land reform; strategies for ensuring children's nutrition, health and development need improvement; challenges of crime and violence particularly against women and children; the need to strengthen the integrated and holistic approach to combating HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria and other communicable diseases.

The President noted that certainly there have been lessons learned both for South Africa and the APRM process itself. The South African experience, its level of citizen engagement and the innovation introduced will all prove to be invaluable to other countries seeking to embark on the APRM process. South Africa is ready to share its experience and expertise when called upon in strengthening and deepening peer review across the continent.

For more information, please contact:
Mukoni Ratshitanga
Cell: 082 300 3447

Issued by: The Presidency
4 July 2007