Midrand, 30-31 July 2018 – The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) convened a meeting attended by several countries from SADC to identify root causes of the maladies crippling State Owned Enterprises on the African continent and to further discuss plans for collaboration to tackle these challenges jointly through the formation of an Africa Network on Corporate Governance of State Owned Enterprises. The meeting was hosted in collaboration with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), a development finance institution that plays a pivotal role in delivering developmental infrastructure on the African continent through provision of loans to State Owned Enterprises.

Speaking on behalf of the APRM,  Prof. Melaku Desta stated that “If used well, the African Network on Corporate Governance of State Owned Enterprises can play a vital role in improving and promoting state of the art best practices in corporate governance, applicable to SOEs in Southern Africa and beyond”.

Ms. Thuli Radebe on behalf of the Department of Public Services and Administration; emphasized on the importance of the network which will serves as a forum for regional dialogue, co-operation, learning and sharing of best practices amongst African countries.

The meeting for the Governance of State Owned Enterprises  was attended by the following countries: Angola, Seychelles, Mauritius, Kingdom of eSwatini, Botswana and South Africa. In addition, the following organizations were represented, the  African Development Bank (AfDB), African Corporate Governance Network (ACGN), the South African Department of Public Enterprises, Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) including the organizers DBSA and APRM.

“SOEs play critical and often strategic roles in the economies of African nations and are significant contributors to GDPs of their countries.  Nonetheless, many of the African countries often face debilitating challenges that have the potential to cripple the economies if not addressed. Through the work of Governance reviews conducted by APRM in 21 countries on the continent, we have found that these challenges are not unique to South Africa or any one African country but are common and cross cutting. It is therefore imperative that the formation of the Africa SOE Governance Network will enhance the performance of the SOE Sector through improved governance and lead to better economic and social outcomes on the continent” elaborated Ms. Tumi Dlamini, the Corporate Governance Expert at APRM.

The Government of Mauritius will host the first meeting of the Africa SOE Governance Network, empowered by the APRM Secretariat, on the 8^th and 9^th November 2018 in Mauritius.

About the African Peer Review Mechanism

The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is an initiative of the African Union, founded in March 2003 by the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).  The purpose of APRM is to facilitate the adoption of policies, principles and practices that contribute to political and economic stability and growth, additionally to leading sustainable development. The four thematic areas of APRM are composed of:

• Democracy and Good Political Governance
• Economic Governance and Management
• Corporate Governance
• Socio-Economic Development

In January 2017, the AU Assembly of Head of States and Government expanded the APRM mandate to Monitoring and Evaluation of the implementation of AU Agenda 2063 and SDGs 2030. While the January 2018 Assembly, amongst other things, welcomed steps taken to position the APRM as an early warning tool for conflict prevention in Africa, in the context of harmony and synergy between the APRM, African Peace and Security Architecture, and the African Governance Architecture

For more information contact:

African Peer Review Mechanism

230 15th Road,

Midrand,

Johannesburg, 1685

Website: https://aprm-au.org/

Tel: 011 256 3401

E-mail: [email protected]