ABSTRACT

Over time, the study’s guiding concept of good governance has become a source of worry for donor partners, the Global West, and certain NGOs as an ideal solution to address the difficulties that developing countries face. In an attempt to persuade African leaders to respect human rights, execute economic reforms, and secure power rotation in a free and fair election, among other things, good governance became a precondition for aid in Africa. African leaders, for example, formed the African Union and its Constitutive Act in 2002, with the goal of promoting democratic ideals and institutions, popular involvement, good governance, and sustainable development in Africa. As a result, the most important and visible responsibility associated with the AU’s development and approval of its Constitutive Act is the mission to promote democracy and good governance in Africa. The African Union’s associated development model, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), has become a necessity for good governance. The African Peer Review (APR) system was introduced into NEPAD and the AU’s joint efforts to monitor African Heads of State in order to assure their colleagues’ healthy governance. The ultimate goal of the APRM is to establish good governance in Africa, which NEPAD considers to be a precondition for development. The research’s key finding is that the APRM’s peer review mechanism has enabled the development of good governance in Africa, paving the path for ‘open governance’ and citizen involvement. Participating countries can use the peer review mechanism to become more aware of the strengths and shortcomings of their policymaking, governance structures, and procedures, as well as share best administrative, political, and financial management practices. It provides a platform for dialogue, peer learning, and regional and continental cooperation in order to address the difficulties that African countries face individually and collectively. Despite this, the APRM has faced significant difficulties that have hampered its efficiency and efficacy.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

It has become clear that strong governance and democracy are not only desirable but also necessary for economic growth in all nations, including third-world countries, particularly Africa. Africa has had tremendous economic success over the years, and its countries have more economic resources than any other country in the world system.

Surprisingly, the African continent is mired in poverty in many countries, as indicated by extreme hunger, disease, and ignorance. Because of dictators and residents who are poor and desperate to earn a livelihood, Africa, frequently referred to as the “forgotten continent,” has been plagued by corruption, unemployment, civil war, and terror (Awung, 2011).

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the new politically independent African states had bright growth prospects. African nationalist leaders worked tirelessly to drive the colonists out. To obtain independence, massive rallies, protests, strikes, civil disobedience, petitions, talks, and boycotts were used as strategies. When the time came for independence, these leaders were confronted with a continent that was both politically and economically weak.

By 1990, many Africans had grown dissatisfied with the post-colonial era’s corrupt, inefficient, authoritarian, and autocratic governing institutions (Appiah, 2015). Corruption is at the center of international and bilateral donor efforts to reduce corruption in developing nations. Democracy is currently the most widely practiced political ideology in Africa and the rest of the world. According to Samuel Huntington, current democracy definitions can be broken down into three categories: source of authority for the government, served purposes, and government constituent procedures (Huntington 1991:6). In its simplest form, democracy is a form of government in which a leader is held accountable for his or her acts and inactions through periodic elections. As a result, authority is concentrated in the hands of the people, who rule directly or through freely chosen representatives.

Good governance, on the other hand, has been defined by the late UN General Secretary Kofi Annan as follows, according to Allen (2000):

“The rule of law, competent governmental institutions, transparency and accountability in the management of public affairs, respect for human rights, and the engagement of all citizens in choices that touch their lives” are all examples of good governance.

When used combined, the terms “democracy and good governance” refer to a political system based on a liberal-democratic polity model that protects human rights and equitable opportunity, as well as a trustworthy, incorruptible, and accountable administration. Todaro and Smith (2009) argue that in the long run, democracy and economic growth will go hand in hand, while Oslon (1993) adds that stable democracy allows for economic progress. Over the years, Africa’s political leadership has adopted and implemented a number of new initiatives to address the continent’s seemingly perennial problems of poverty, underdevelopment, poor governance, corruption, instability, and political deterioration, with the overall goal of accelerating development (Mbadlanyana, 2014). One of the most prominent attempts in this direction is the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which was adopted in 2001 and ratified by African Heads of State in 2002. The African Recovery Millennium Action Plan, the Omega Plan, and the New Compact with Africa are all part of this program. African Heads of State and Government agreed to accept NEPAD “on the basis of a single vision and shared belief that they have a compelling obligation to eradicate poverty and to place Africans at the center of the global economy.” The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Plan (CAADP), the Programme for Infrastructural Development in Africa (PIDA), and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) are all part of NEPAD (Vickers, 2017). The APRM is undoubtedly the most lauded policy established by Africa’s Heads of States among the sector-specific programs integrated in NEPAD. According to Herbert and Gruzd (2008), the APRM is the NEPAD’s most forward-thinking and ambitious component. As a result, APRM is a distinct, widely accepted tool for supporting the application of measures, norms, and procedures that contribute to political stability, robust economic growth, and environmental sustainability.  As a result, among other things, to accomplish NEPAD’s objectives and outcomes, Africa’s member states have agreed to subject their countries to peer assessment, utilizing a unique and inventive APRM program (hope, 2005). The APRM’s goal was to show, on a country-by-country basis, which governmental structures, laws, and competencies needed to be changed, reformed, or developed.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The APRM, a ground-breaking NEPAD program, has been hailed by the Global North and many Africans as a solution to the continent’s problems. As of 2014, 34 countries had joined the APRM MOU, indicating their willingness to be examined by their peers (NEPAD, 2015). Ghana, Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Cameroon, Chad, Congo Republic, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Lesotho, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sudan, According to Herbert (2004), none of NEPAD’s concepts,

The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Plan (CAADP), the Programme for Infrastructural Development in Africa (PIDA), and the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) are all part of NEPAD (Vickers, 2017). The APRM is undoubtedly the most lauded policy established by Africa’s Heads of States among the sector-specific programs integrated in NEPAD. According to Herbert and Gruzd (2008), the APRM is the NEPAD’s most forward-thinking and ambitious component. As a result, APRM is a distinct, widely accepted tool for supporting the application of measures, norms, and procedures that contribute to political stability, robust economic growth, and environmental sustainability.

Historically, African states have regarded each other’s sovereignty as sacred, as embodied in the charter of the Organization of African Union (OAU), now the African Union (AU), a posture that has allowed tyrannical governments to prosper at the expense of their people’s well-being (Appiah, 2015). The OAU’s only concern when it was founded in 1963 was to free Africa from colonialism’s shackles. Although it had a number of objectives, including promoting global collaboration and adhering to the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), its primary objectives were the rapid decolonization of Africa, the unification of Africa, and the protection of African states’ territorial borders (Akokpari, 2004). Despite its limitations, the APRM’s implementation provided a refreshing contrast to the Constitutive Act’s aspirations. NEPAD and its APRM, like any other OAU/AU policy, were met with skepticism as to whether the APRM and NEPAD would bring about any changes, owing to the fact that the very rulers who, individually and collectively, are responsible for wrecking their countries’ economies and promoting corruption are the same individuals who are supposed to willingly avail their governance structures to be peer reviewed. Despite this, it has been 18 years since the APRM was implemented.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The goal of this research is to provide a detailed examination of NEPAD’s benefits to African development and good governance. The following are some of the study’s other goals:

To talk about the NEPAD and APRM goals.

To assess the APRM’s utility in promoting and enhancing good governance and development in Africa.

To look into the difficulties that the APRM has had in promoting good governance and development in Africa.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following important research questions were addressed in the study:

What are the goals of the NEPAD and APRM?

What role does the APRM play in promoting and improving good governance and development in Africa?

What obstacles has the APRM had to overcome in its efforts to promote good governance and development in Africa?

SCOPE  AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Using APRM as a case study, the study provides insight into the appraisal of NEPAD’s contributions to African development and good governance. The different ways in which APRM has contributed to Africa’s good governance and development will be examined.

As the investigation and analysis advanced, numerous hurdles and obstructions were encountered. All of these roadblocks resulted in a prominent clause in the research work. Limited availability of relevant resources, time constraints, and budgetary constraints are among them.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The different strategies or procedures the researcher employed to conduct the research, as well as the instrument used to collect the data, are discussed in research methodology.

There are a variety of research methodologies that can be used to address the research questions. The historical research methodology will be employed in this study to collect data and relevant information, and the study will use the descriptive data collection method. This will entail gathering information from secondary sources such as books, journal articles, magazines, websites, international and national conference proceedings, and previously published and unpublished articles.

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