This project is being implemented by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) in Johannesburg, in partnership with the Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN) in Lilongwe.
The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), established in 2003, is Africa’s premier governance self-assessment and promotion tool. The purpose of the APRM is “to foster the adoption of policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration through reinforcement of best practices, including identifying deficiencies and accessing the needs for capacity building,” according to its founding documents.
The tool emerged out of a growing acknowledgement that the continent’s developmental deficits owed a great deal to failures of governance, something that only African countries, in partnership with civil society and the private sector, could remedy. Thus, the APRM was created and driven by Africans for Africans and is an autonomous agency within the AU system.
Malawi and the APRM
Malawi joined the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in 2004, yet progress has been limited. Recent developments under the leadership of President Lazarus Chakwera’s administration have reignited hopes for a robust engagement with the APRM. A key factor in its success will be the active involvement of an informed and engaged civil society.
The APRM is not just a government review, but a country review, in which civil society organisations (CSOs) are important stakeholders. It is a requirement that civil society be involved in a country’s process, and the APRM provides a platform to promote a wide range of governance issues that CSOs feel passionately about, through evidence-based submissions. Through the Malawi APRM Popular Sensitisation Project, CSOs were invited to develop a comprehensive governance assessment of Malawi’s strengths and weaknesses and develop recommendations to remedy shortcomings.
Project partners
The South African Institute of International Affairs partnered with Malawian CSOs in popularising the APRM in the country. The Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN) is the secretariat for a group of CSOs that have formed an APRM Working Group under the Malawi APRM MAPS.
The project has garnered significant support and involvement from various CSOs in Malawi. Those that contributed to the report are:
• Malawi Economic Justice Network (MEJN)
• Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC)
• Council for Non-Governmental Organisations (CONGOMA)
• Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR)
• Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC)
• Edukans Malawi
• Malawi Human Rights Youth Network (MHRYN)
• Natural Resources Justice Network (NRJN)
• National Youth Network on Climate Change (MYNCC)
• Civil Society Social Protection Network (CSSPN)
Download the report: Implementing the APRM: Views from Civil Society – The Malawi Report
Presentations
SAIIA and MEJN met in September 2022 to lay the foundation for collaborative efforts to advance the APRM process in Malawi. Over the past two years, the process has included informative presentations aimed at fostering dialogue and understanding among all stakeholders.
- Presentations from the pre-planning stakeholders’ meeting – 8 October 2022
- MAPS Validation Workshop – April 2024
- MAPS Report Launch Presentation – July 2024
Acknowledgement
The project partners would like to thank the Government of Sweden and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) for their generous support.
Other APRM Popular Sensitisation Projects
See how a similar process unfolded in Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
