African Governance Report I

The African Governance Report (AGR) is the result of extensive research covering governance practices in 27 African countries undertaken by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) through national research institutions, which altogether sampled opinions from over 50,000 households and 2,000 experts. The findings, which were submitted to ECA between 2002 and 2004, were subjected to a rigorous process of reviews that involved both national and international experts working on governance, political and economic issues.

The report is the first major Africa-driven study of its kind, which aimed at gauging more empirically citizens’ perceptions of the state of governance in their countries, while identifying major capacity deficits in governance practices and institutionsand recommending best practices and solutions to address them. Emphasis was placed on local ownership of the resultant empirical body of knowledge to strengthen the legitimacy and effectiveness of policy-making and advocacy at the country and subregional levels. The data thus generated can be used as performance benchmarks by governments and all major stakeholders in addressing the concerns expressed by the citizenry and serve to monitor how faithfully the compact between them is carried forward. We have been careful not to be too prescriptive. The AGR contains recommendations that are essentially informed by country-specific realities as governance must be contextualized and home grown for it to be sustainable.