The APRM As A The APRM As A Governance Governance
Improvement Improvement Mechanism Mechanism
Paper Presented During Workshop on
“Harmonizing the Tanzanian APRM National Plan of Action (NPoA) with the existing development strategies and Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF)”
from
25-26 September 2012Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Venue: DICC, Dar es Salaam
by
Dr. Adotey Bing-Pappoe
The Governance Landscape
The Structure of Governance Improvement Mechanisms
The APRM as Governance Improvement Mechanism
APRM Achievements and Challenges
•The Governance Landscape
The Governance LandscapeThe Governance Landscape
“The traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised” (Daniel Kaufmann -The Worldwide Governance Indicators)
“The exercise of political authority and the use of institutional resources to manage society's problems and affairs.” (The World Bank)
“Decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance” (Wikipedia)
The established structures and processes for allocating, delegating, and using authority or power in social contexts. (working definition)
definitionsdefinitions
The Governance LandscapeThe Governance Landscape
Leadership structures and processes
Decision making structures and processes
The character of decisions
Institutional capacity
Implementation and monitoring
Evaluation and learning
Corrective action
Overview
The Governance The Governance LandscapeLandscape
Eligibility (ethnicity, religion, gender, property,other)
Selection process (birthright, selection, election)
Powers (absolute, shared, ‘constitutional’)
The LeadershipFramework
The Governance The Governance LandscapeLandscape
• OECD Guidelines: decision making processes
Vision and mission driven
Lawful
Transparent
Participatory
Consensual
Decision making processes
The Governance LandscapeThe Governance Landscape
• OECD Guidelines: character of decisionsLawful
Accountable
Inclusive (diversity)
Responsive (to what?)
Equitable and equal (horizontal, vertical)
Decisions
The Governance The Governance LandscapeLandscape
• Conditions for effective and efficient organisations:
Clear Mission and Objectives
Adequate human resources (personnel)
Relevant human capital (knowledge)
Adequate financial resources
Operative systems and procedures
Sufficient time
Organisational Capacity
The Governance The Governance LandscapeLandscape
• Implementation
Programme and project inputs
• Monitoring
Method
Frequency
Inputs
Outputs
Implementation and monitoring
The Governance LandscapeThe Governance Landscape
•Evaluation Issues
Internal or external
Objectives
Questions
Timing
Methods
structured interviews
observations
focus groups
workshops
Learning issues
Conclusions rigorously based on evaluation findings
Evaluation and Learning
The Governance The Governance LandscapeLandscape
• Learning Objectives:Improved governance performance
• Leadership systems
• Decision making processes
• Character of decisions
• Capacity
• Implementation and monitoring
• Evaluation and learning
• Corrective action
Learning -3
The Governance The Governance LandscapeLandscape
• Learning Objectives: Improved governance framework
Institutions
Objectives
Strategies
Indicators
Targets
Learning -4
The Governance LandscapeThe Governance Landscape
• Issues:
Timely
Evidence based
Appropriate
Proportionate
Corrective Action
•The Structure of Governance Improvement Mechanisms
The Structure of Governance The Structure of Governance Improvement MechanismsImprovement Mechanisms
Sources and causes of governance improvement initiatives
Objectives
Focus
Assessment and Benchmarking
Improvement Plan
Implementation and monitoring
Evaluation and learning
Corrective action
Overview
The Structure of The Structure of Governance Improvement Governance Improvement
MechanismsMechanismsCauses and sources of governance improvement
Internally driven
Public opinion
Election results (positive and negative)
Media investigations
State driven public inquiries
Civil society led public policy research findings
Sectarian conflict
Demonstrations, Riots, and Revolutions
Externally driven
External image
International agreements and treaties (bilateral, regional global)
‘Donor’ pressure
External sanctions and threats
Causes
The Structure of Governance The Structure of Governance Improvement MechanismsImprovement Mechanisms
Objectives
Social
Economic
Military
Political
Cosmetic (Public relations)
Objectives
The Structure of The Structure of Governance Improvement Governance Improvement
MechanismsMechanismsSocietal focus (kinds of institutions included)
Government
Business
Civil society
Governance focus (governance areas)
Leadership
Decision making processes
Decisions
Capacity
Implementation and monitoring
Evaluation and learning
Corrective action
Focus
The Structure of The Structure of Governance Governance
Improvement Improvement MechanismsMechanisms
Assessment methods
Subjective data
Popular surveys
Expert opinion surveys
Objective data
Official data collection
Civil society
Choice of indicators
Benchmarking
Quantification of indicators
Compilation and publication of results
Assessment and Benchmarking
The Structure of The Structure of Governance Improvement Governance Improvement
MechanismsMechanismsFocus
Social institutions
Governance landscape
Objectives
Assessment driven
Problems to be addressed
Based on targeted improvements to benchmarked indicators
Strategies, policies, and programmes
Indicators of success
Milestones markers
Targets
Improvement plan
The Structure of The Structure of Governance Governance
Improvement Improvement MechanismsMechanisms
• Implementation
Mobilisation of planned inputs
Application of planned inputs
Implementation and Monitoring
The Structure of The Structure of Governance Governance
Improvement Improvement MechanismsMechanisms
• Monitoring
Completed outputs
Intended quality
Estimated time
Estimated cost
Implementation and Monitoring
The Structure of The Structure of Governance Improvement Governance Improvement
MechanismsMechanisms
Relevance of objectives, strategies, policies and indicators for targeted problems
Efficiency
Input /output ratios
Cost Ratios
Effectiveness
Achievements of outcomes
Sustainability
Utility
Evaluation and learning
The Structure of Governance The Structure of Governance Improvement MechanismsImprovement Mechanisms
Proximate objectives of corrective action
Improved efficiency
Improved effectiveness
Strategic objectives of corrective action
New or higher governance targets
New or amended governance indicators
New or amended governance policies, strategies, or objectives
New institutions
New missions
Corrective action
•The APRM as Governance Improvement Mechanism
The APRM as Governance The APRM as Governance Improvement MechanismImprovement Mechanism
Internal
Election results (positive and negative)
Sectarian conflicts
Demonstrations, Riots, and Revolutions
External
Improve external image (attract FDI, ODA)
International agreements and treaties (bilateral, regional global)
Causes
The APRM as Governance The APRM as Governance Improvement MechanismImprovement Mechanism
Objectives
Thematic areas Number of Objectives
Democracy and political governance 9
Economic Governance and Management 5
Corporate governance 5
Socio-economic development 6
Total 25
The APRM as Governance The APRM as Governance Improvement MechanismImprovement Mechanism
• Governance focus of questionnaire
Decision making and decisions
Institutional mission
Leadership
Governance Focus
The APRM as Governance The APRM as Governance Improvement MechanismImprovement Mechanism
Democracy and Political Governance
Economic Management
and Governance
Corporate Governance
Socio-Economic
DevelopmentTotal
Institutional Mission 11 0 7 3 21
Leadership 1 0 1 0 2
Decisions 13 16 7 3 39
Capacity 3 0 0 1 4
Implementation and learning 0 0 0 0 0
Total 28 16 15 7 66
Questionnaire focus
The APRM as Governance The APRM as Governance Improvement MechanismImprovement Mechanism
• Social domains included in APRM focus
Government
Executive
MDAs
Judiciary
Legislature
Business
Societal focus
The APRM as Governance The APRM as Governance Improvement MechanismImprovement Mechanism
Periodic Formal Self-Assessments
expert opinion
stakeholders
public opinion
Reports - Annual
Assessment method
The APRM as a The APRM as a Governance Improvement Governance Improvement
MechanismMechanism
The APRM guidelines does not make formal benchmarking mandatory
Benchmarking
The APRM as Governance The APRM as Governance Improvement MechanismImprovement Mechanism
NPoA structure
Issue
Objectives
Required action
Monitorable indicator
Means of verification
Improvement Plan
The APRM as The APRM as Governance Governance
Improvement Improvement MechanismMechanism
Monitoring
The systems for monitoring of the NPoA were developed by national governing councils post NPoA
Data from state bureaucracy (MDAs)
Participatory evaluation
Implementation and monitoring
The APRM as The APRM as Governance Governance
Improvement Improvement MechanismMechanism
Evaluation, learning, and corrective action
Weak evidence of APRM evaluation and learning in annual reports
Weak evidence of corrective actions based on annual reports and global evaluation exercises
Learning and corrective action
•APRM Achievements and Challenges
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Characteristics of African countries*
Average country population - 16 mn
Per Capita GDP - Africa -US$ 1,009
• * 2010
• IBRD data
Membership-1
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Achievement
• APRM accession (2012)
31 countries or 56% of African countries
Approximately 80% of African population living in APRM member county
Approximately 90% of African GDP produced in an APRM member country
Membership-2
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Achievements
Countries Peer Reviewed to date: 18
As % of those acceded: 58%
As % of all Africa 33%
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Challenges
• To increase number of new accessions
Countries yet to accede: 24
45% of African countries
11% of continental GDP
• To increase the rate of self-assessments
Countries that have acceded but yet to conduct self assessment:13
As % of those that have acceded: 42%
• To speed up rate of second assessment
Number of second self-assessments:1
Number awaiting second self-assessment 6, with 7 in the pipeline.
Membership-4
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Challenges
Ensure that APRM is flexible enough to accommodate diverse development strategies by:
providing a framework of objectives and questions (strategies) that can cater for the possibility of different approaches to achieve the achievement of common objectives
Membership-5
APRM Achievements APRM Achievements and Challengesand Challenges
• Achievements
Increased focus on internal sources and drivers of governance improvement
Public opinion
Civil society
Media
Parliament
State commissions
• Challenges
• To maintain and increase the importance of internal sources of governance improvement
Sources of governance improvement initiatives
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Achievements
25 objectives highlighted within the four thematic areas
• Challenges
To make sure through revaluations that these are the most relevant objectives
To make sure the relative wighting given to the objectives is appropriate
For example Greater importance given to regional integration objectives
Regional programmes and projects to be peer reviewed at regional level
Objectives-1
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Achievements
Space for civil society input into governance process greatly enhanced
APRM combined governance assessment with socio-economic development assessment
• Challenges
Clarify further the distinction
development is about outputs of goods and services
governance is about established processes
Objectives-2
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Achievements
The NPoA focus could be said to be on “governance through development”
Some “governance” projects are development projects that are necessary to improve governance e.g:
computerisation of court records to speed up trial times etc
• Challenges
To raise the profile of improved governance through improved systems and organisation
Objectives-3
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
Country “Governance”%
Socio-economic Development
%
Ghana 96.1 3.9
Kenya 92.8 7.2
Benin 66.9 31.7
Nigeria 60.0 40.0
Burkina Faso 44.0 56.0
Mauritius 32.0 68.0
South Africa 18.3 80.3
Objectives-4
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Achievements
Focus on government and state Institutions
Executive and MDAs
Judiciary
Parliament
Focus on Corporate governance
• Challenges
To improve and refine focus on government and state institutions
Often capacity is one of the common weaknesses
To improve and refine focus on corporate governance
To extend focus to civil society, major civil society organisations to be included in assessment
Societal Focus
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Achievements
APRM raised awareness of importance of some dimensions of governance:
Leadership
Decision making process
lawful
accountable
transparent
Character of decisions
inclusive
responsive
equitable
Challenges
To extend and deepen focus on:
Leadership
Decisions
Capacity
Implementation
Learning
Corrective Action
Governance Focus
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Achievements
Instances of constitutional leadership in Africa on the rise
Quality of constitutional leadership in Africa improving
Threats to un-constitutional leadership mediated or challenged
Leadership-1
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Challenges
Continued successful interventions require:
Regional institutions with strong levers e.g.
diplomatic
financial
geo-political
military
Infringements from relatively vulnerable countries
Leadership-2
APRM Achievements APRM Achievements and Challengesand Challenges
• Achievements
APRM credited improvements to national governance making for better decisions e.g.
Ghana - Whistle Blower Act - 2006
Kenya - new constitution (2010)
less powerful president
more powerful prime minister
devolved power to regions
judicial services commission
Uganda - strengthening parliamentary oversight capacity
Nigeria - Freedom of Information Act - 28th May 2011
Decision making and decisions
APRM Achievements APRM Achievements and Challengesand Challenges
• Challenges
Improved governance should lead to improved economic performance
Governance assessment and improvement initiatives should fully embrace all three domains of society: political, business, and civil
Governance focus concerns to include capacity, monitoring, evaluation, and corrective action, as well as leadership and decisions.
Decision making and decisions
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
NPoA appear to require significant additions to GDP:
From a high of 21% in Burkina Faso to 0.2% in South Africa
Capacity-1
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
However not all NPoA projects came out of the self-assessment, many were pre-existing programmes:
therefore unlikely to be governance programmes
therefore the total cost of NPoA did not all represent additional spending
Capacity-3
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Achievements
Low ODA dependence of NPoA
South Africa (0%)
Nigeria (0%)
• Challenges
To achieve implementation and maintain sovereignty in the face of high ODA dependency of NPoAs e.g.
Benin (90%)
Burkina Faso (unspecified but high)
Capacity-4
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Challenges
Develop strategies to address high levels of NPoA dependence on ODA. Possibilities might include:
APRM development bonds financed by African Diaspora
APRM development bonds financed by African counties with growing and significant sovereign funds e.g.
Angola
Botswana
Equatorial Guinea
Algeria
Capacity-5
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Achievements
NPOAs demonstrated that governance performance could be assessed quantitatively
• Leadership
• Decision making
• Decisions
• Capacity
• Implementation and monitoring
• Evaluation and learning
• Corrective action
Assessment and benchmarking
APRM Achievements APRM Achievements and Challengesand Challenges
• Challenges
To institutionalise benchmarking by:
For each APRM thematic area and objective, to develop relevant quantifiable or categorisable indicators to be used in the self-assessment.
for each APRM objective develop quantifiable or categorisable indicators to be used in the self-assessment. e.g:
Benchmarking used as basis of NPoA design
Assessment and benchmarking
APRM Achievements APRM Achievements and Challengesand Challenges
• Challenges: to develop benchmarks as per questionnaire
Objectives Questions Indicators
Targets
Democracy and Political Governance
9 21 67
Economic governance and management
5 16 47
Corporate governance
5 12 41
Socio-economic development
6 9 30
Total 25 58 83
Assessment and benchmarking
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Achievements
NPoA - the first steps in institutionalising improvements in governance performance and socio-economic development
• Challenges
To institutionalise governance improvement plans linked to benchmarking, through:
choice of objectives
choice of indicators
choice of targets
Improvement plan
APRM Achievements APRM Achievements and Challengesand Challenges
• Achievements
requirement for countries to report bi-annually and later annually broadly complied with
requirement for countries to report using agreed matrix, less well adhered to
• Challenges
To ensure that APRM monitoring of implementation is effective and efficient
countries to report according to agreed matrix
countries to report using the same indicators as used in NPoA
Periodic (annual, biennial) compilation and publication of APRM governance improvement indicators
Implementation and monitoring
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Achievements
NPoA raised profile of monitoring, a prerequisite to evaluation and learning
• Challenges
to strengthen evaluation processes
To strengthen and institutionalise learning:
regular evaluation of relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency
• Parliamentary oversight capacity strengthened to necessary levels
• National Audit Institution capacity raised to appropriate levels
• National regulatory or oversight bodies, for corporates and civil society, given appropriate powers and resources
Evaluation and learning
The APRM as a The APRM as a Governance Governance
Improvement MechanismImprovement Mechanism
• Challenges
Recommendations for corrective action from evaluations are made public
To disseminate more widely best practices from CRRs
Adoption/emulation of best practices between APRM member countries
Corrective action
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Summary of main challenges
To establish the headline elements of an APRM governance framework including:
Inclusion of all governance aspects
For each aspect of governance, formulation of related governance objectives
Inclusion of all domain of society: political, business, civil in self-assessment
Benchmarking to be given higher profile in APRM self-assessment process
Publication of benchmarking results of self-assessment
Quantification of selected governance indicators into targets in NPoAs
Summary of challenges
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
Strengthen dissemination of best practices within APRM family
Strengthening monitoring, evaluation, learning and corrective action procedures of national APRM
Strengthening monitoring evaluation, learning and corrective action procedures of APRM continental
Annual or biennial compilation and publication of APRM Governance Indicators
Successful implementation of NPoA to be seen as highlight of APRM process
Summary of challenges
APRM Achievements and APRM Achievements and ChallengesChallenges
• Thank you