US embassy cable - 05PRETORIA4411

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 004411 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, EINV, EAID, PGOV, PREL, SF 
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA LAUNCHES APRM PROCESS 
 
1. (U) This cable is Sensitive But Unclassified.  Not for 
Internet distribution. 
 
2. (U) Summary.  President Thabo Mbeki launched South 
Africa's African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process on 
September 28 by calling on his citizens to lead by example in 
Africa's transformation.  Mbeki admitted South Africa's 
weaknesses in the areas of local government capacity and 
corruption.  He has tapped the Department of Public Service 
and Administration's Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi to 
lead the country through the APRM process.  Civil society 
voiced complaints about what they saw as a 
government-dominated process; however, some of these 
criticisms have been laid to rest since civil society groups 
gained 10 out of 15 seats on the APRM Governing Council and 
more time has been allocated for consultations.  South 
Africa's APRM process is scheduled to be complete by July 
2006.  End Summary. 
 
Presidential Support 
-------------------- 
 
3. (U) President Thabo Mbeki declared his commitment to the 
African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) through his attendance 
at the September 28th launch for South Africa's peer review. 
He called for South Africans not to forget all the support 
they received from other Africans during the struggle against 
apartheid and encouraged them to actively assist the rest of 
Africa with its political and economic transformation.  Mbeki 
counseled participants that South Africa could not expect the 
rest of the continent to change without itself conducting a 
proper review.  He warned that the rest of the continent 
would be watching South Africa with higher expectations than 
it held for other countries.  He encouraged participants to 
expose South Africa's weaknesses so that the government could 
remedy them.  During South Africa's APRM, for example, Mbeki 
was "quite certain" that corruption would be raised as would 
the lack of local government capacity.  In the end, Mbeki 
hoped the process would result in solving problems in a way 
that could move the country forward. 
 
Leader of the Pack: DPSA 
------------------------ 
 
4. (U) Mbeki tapped the South African Department of Public 
Service and Administration (DPSA) to lead the APRM process. 
In her keynote address, DPSA Minister Geraldine 
Fraser-Moleketi noted that an APRM process would have been 
inconceivable in South Africa not too long ago, but that now 
South Africa was a "shining beacon on the global stage."  The 
APRM process was a way to learn how to do things better and 
to create a "non-racial, non-sexist society." 
Fraser-Moleketi wanted to ensure the participation of civil 
society and community groups through provincial conferences, 
local meetings with ward committees, and an interactive 
website.  In this effort, DPSA intends to employ as many as 
2,000 community workers to administer the questionnaire that 
will serve as the basis for the self-assessment report. 
Fraser-Moleketi stated that South Africa was ready to answer 
the tough questions and that the South African Government 
(SAG) needed a clear vision of what was actually going on in 
the country so it could do more. 
 
Civil Society: Complaints and Recommendations 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
5. (SBU) In the run up to the APRM launch, various groups and 
organizations comprising civil society criticized the SAG for 
dominating the APRM process and for what they termed 
non-transparency.  They contrasted the South African process 
with that of the Ghana, whose APRM they thought was led by 
civil society in a transparent and inclusive way.  In 
response, Mbeki pondered at one point in his address as to 
whether "we actually have an independent African civil 
society, because you have civil society organizations funded 
by the Americans, and the Swedes, and the Danes, and the 
Japanese and so on, who set agendas."  This statement was 
widely quoted and interpreted by the local press as casting 
doubt on whether the voice of civil society was South African 
or foreign.  (Comment:  While this interpretation may partly 
reflect what Mbeki was saying, he made the comment in the 
context of motivating South Africans to take charge of their 
own agenda, and to be active participants in setting the 
course for their own future.  End Comment.) 
 
6. (U) Laura Kganyago of the National Women's Coalition spoke 
on behalf of the Economic, Social, and Cultural Council 
(ECOSOCC), an advisory organ of the African Union.  Kganyago 
felt that the APRM's Governing Council should have more 
representatives from civil society than from government.  She 
also called for publicly-distributed questionnaires to be 
translated into all eleven official languages, and to make 
them easily accessible to people in rural areas.  She wanted 
the APRM process to be clearly explained to all citizens 
through the distribution of a simple manual that could be 
understood by South Africans possessing little education. 
Kganyago hoped that the final report would improve living and 
working conditions in South Africa and eventually lead to 
making South Africa more attractive to investors. 
 
Governing Council Allays Some Fears 
----------------------------------- 
 
7. (U) Many of the initial complaints made by civil society 
groups subsided after the timetable for the APRM process was 
extended to nine months and the Governing Council was 
expanded to include more civil society members.  This allowed 
participating groups more time for community consultations 
and better representation on the Governing Council.  Concerns 
remain about loading the Council with five powerful Cabinet 
members and the way that the questionnaire seems to leads 
respondents to answer favorably. 
 
8. (U) The Governing Council will consist of five government 
representatives and ten civil society representatives.  The 
five government members are Finance Minister Trevor Manuel, 
Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa, Justice Minister 
Bridgette Mabandla, Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad, 
and DPSA Minister Fraser-Moleketi (Chairperson).  The ten 
civil society members represent labor, youth, NGOs, and 
faith-based institutions.  They are as follows: 
 
-- Mr. Bheki Sibiya, Business Unity South Africa 
-- Mr. Lukes Matoto, Disabled People South Africa 
-- Ms. Zanele Twala, South African National NGO Coalition 
-- Dr. Nomonde Mqhai, South African Youth Council 
-- Ms. Thabisile Msezani, South African Council of Churches 
-- Mr. Randall Howard, Congress of South African Trade 
   Unions 
-- Dr. Mongane Wally Serote, Arts and Culture Sector 
-- Mr. Master Mahlobogoane, South African National Civic 
   Organization 
-- Ms. Laura Kganyago, National Women's Coalition 
-- Mr. Moemedi Kepadisa, National Council of Trade Unions 
 
APRM Stages 
----------- 
 
9. (U) The formal APRM process will move through the 
following five stages: (1) preparation of a Country 
Self-Assessment report and Program of Action based on a 
public questionnaire -- covering political governance, 
economic management, corporate governance, and socio-economic 
development; (2) submission of the Self Assessment and 
Program of Action to the APRM Secretariat; (3) consultations 
with the Country Review Team, led by Nigerian Professor 
Adebayo Adedeji; (4) preparation of the Country Review Team's 
response to the report; and (5) submission of all reports to 
the African Peer Review Forum for later public release.  An 
APRM team will return to South Africa at a later date to 
assess progress on the country's Program of Action. 
 
10. (U) The target date for completion of South Africa's APRM 
process is July 2006.  South Africa's Governing Council must 
now finalize its national questionnaire and formulate a road 
map to the finish.  In November, the African Peer Review 
Secretariat will send a Country Support Team, led by Adedeji, 
 
SIPDIS 
to assess South Africa's readiness to begin the process.  As 
a follow-up to the launch event, South Africa plans to hold a 
second public consultative event, which will assist the 
Governing Council in making progress towards the final report. 
HARTLEY