want to engage with broadly representative formations of civil society, this is not always possible due to constraints within civil society itself constraints which this sector will have to resolve on its own. – Developing the plan in a timely manner: Time is a real constraint when consultation has to be conducted in the manner prescribed by the OGP which outlines seven Articles of Governance for Public Consultation on Country Commitments”, including the requirement to ensure the “Guidelines participation of hard-to-reach groups which in the South African context includes rural women and the urbanised youth. Meeting these requirements have proven to be time-consuming (as was expected), but worth the effort in that the NAP2 that was developed through the prescribed OGP participation processes and in the end endorsed through the 1 000 Voices Campaign reflected the views of a diverse group as stakeholders as reflected by Table 2. V. IRM Recommendations The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) recommendations on South Africa`s first OGP Government Self-Assessment Report (2012) included recommendations specifically related to the country action plan commitments as well as general recommendations on open governance. These recommendations, summarised in Table 4 below, were considered in developing the country’s NAP2 commitments in the manner reflected in the table. Table 4: Consideration of IRM recommendations in NAP2 IRM Report recommendations NAP2 The IRM Report highlighted that South Africa’s As per the recommendations of the IRM Report, this assessment report omitted the commitment to develop commitment was reaffirmed as Commitment 1 in the an Accountability/Consequences Management NAP2: Development and implementation of an Framework. The report recommended that this Accountability/Consequences Management commitment should be reaffirmed in the next action plan. Framework for Public Servants The IRM Report highlighted that although the To give effect to the IRM Report recommendation to commitment to establish Service Delivery Improvement broaden civic participation regarding this specific Forums were technically completed in that a commitment, the commitment was again included in concept note was developed, civic participation needs to the NAP2 with a strong focus on civic/citizen be widened to ensure that the commitment is effective. monitoring of public service delivery. Hence, the refocus on Citizen-Based Monitoring of public service delivery. The IRM Report highlighted that the commitment to In this regard, the Your Rights and “Know implement a national Your Rights and Responsibilities” booklet has been made available in “Know campaign can be strengthened going all 11 official languages of South Africa. Responsibilities”
want to engage with broadly representative formations of civil society, this is not always possible due to constraints within civil society itself – constraints which this sector will have to resolve on its own. Developing the plan in a timely manner: Time is a real constraint when consultation has to be conducted in the manner prescribed by the OGP Articles of Governance which outlines seven “Guidelines for Public Consultation on Country Commitments”, including the requirement to ensure the participation of hard-to-reach groups which in the South African context includes rural women and the urbanised youth. Meeting these requirements have proven to be time-consuming (as was expected), but worth the effort in that the NAP2 that was developed through the prescribed OGP participation processes and in the end endorsed through the 1 000 Voices Campaign reflected the views of a diverse group as stakeholders as reflected by Table 2. V. IRM Recommendations The Independent Review Mechanism (IRM) recommendations on South Africa`s first OGP Government Self-Assessment Report (2012) included recommendations specifically related to the country action plan commitments as well as general recommendations on open governance. These recommendations, summarised in Table 4 below, were considered in developing the country’s NAP2 commitments in the manner reflected in the table. Table 4: Consideration of IRM recommendations in NAP2 IRM Report recommendations NAP2 The IRM Report highlighted that South Africa’s report omitted the commitment to develop an Accountability/Consequences Management Framework. The report recommended that this commitment should be reaffirmed in the next action plan. As per the recommendations of the IRM Report, this commitment was reaffirmed as Commitment 1 in the NAP2: Development and implementation of an Accountability/Consequences Management Framework for Public Servants The IRM Report highlighted that although the commitment to establish Service Delivery Improvement Forums were technically completed in that a concept note was developed, civic participation needs to be widened to ensure that the commitment is effective. To give effect to the IRM Report recommendation to broaden civic participation regarding this specific commitment, the commitment was again included in the NAP2 with a strong focus on civic/citizen monitoring of public service delivery. Hence, the refocus on Citizen-Based Monitoring of public service delivery. The IRM Report highlighted that the commitment to implement a national “Know Your Rights and Responsibilities” campaign can be strengthened going In this regard, the “Know Your Rights and Responsibilities” booklet has been made available in all 11 official languages of South Africa. assessment
South-Africa_MidTerm-Self-Assessment-Report_May%202015.docx