The three webinars addressed strategies pertinent to sound policy making as one of the strategic principles of CEPA Principles for Effective Governance of SDGs. The first webinar addressed Risk management in Africa in response while the second and third discussed Strategic planning and foresight and policy coherence in Africa in response to the pandemic. Analytical papers were also presented by experts to address the three strategies progress and challenges in Africa with a special focus on the following countries: Cabo Verde, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Madagascar, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Uganda, and Cote d’Ivoire.

On behalf of the CEO of APRM, Mr. Ferdinand Katendeko, Chief of Staff, kicked-off the third webinar by commending the APRM strong collaboration with the UN Committee of Experts over the last three years. He explained that the APRM-UN CEPA/DESA partnership supports sharing insights from the continent concerning challenges for SDGs implementation and monitoring, but most important to provide a platform for peer-learning on voluntary national reporting and CEPA principles. He continues; ‘’As an observer in CEPA, we began regional exercise at the continental annually with the capacity building division at UN DESA to stock take the implementation of these principles and overall advocacy and awareness about it amongst African experts’’.

Mr. Katendeko also referred to the APRM Baseline Study on the implementation of CEPA Principles in 17 African countries as it shows that the level of understanding, knowledge and implementation of the principles have discrepancies amongst the selected countries. Ms. Sara Hamouda- officer in charge of Agenda 2063 Unit presented in the concluding remarks that APRM also prioritises CEPA in the 2022 program of activities to capacitate public civil servants’ understanding of these principles. Amongst the foreseen activities are conducting CEPA Manual for Africa alongside peer-learning training on the said principles for some African countries.

On behalf of UN DESA, Dr. Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Chairperson of Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) and Adriana Alberti, Chief, Programme Management and Capacity Development Unit (PMCDU), DPIDG, UN DESA emphasized the significant collaboration with APRM to take the principles into actions at national levels especially through the APRM national structures beside harmonizing AU efforts in this regard. This shall also assist African countries during the preparations of the voluntary National/Local Reporting on both agendas in tandem, as they emphasized.

For further info about the webinars, please visit

https://publicadministration.un.org/en/news-and-events/calendar/ModuleID/1146/ItemID/3107/mctl/EventDetails.

APRM-UNDESA continental workshop on CEPA:

https://sdgs.un.org/events/workshop-accelerating-implementation-2030-agenda-and-au-agenda-2063-africa-building.