Cape Town, South Africa - The government of South Africa is hosting the 2016 Open Government Partnership Africa Regional Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa from May 5 - 6, 2016, with the theme "Open Government for Sustainable Development in Africa". The initiative is aimed at promoting open government reforms across the globe. 

Speaking at the High Level Opening of the 2016 Africa Regional Conference, the CEO of the NEPAD Agency, Dr. Ibrahim Mayaki highlighted the need to foster reforms at country-level towards making governments more transparent, accountable and responsive to their own citizens. The CEO cited this as important, particularly if Africa is to achieve the goals set in Agenda 2063 and SDGs. Overall, the implication is that implementation cannot be the “monopoly” of government experts but should include non-state actors and people for citizen-based development. 

The event will provide for civil society representatives and governments to engage as equal partners as ratified in the Open Government Partnership on the role of open government in the implementation of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development with a focus on Africa's development priorities.

The areas of focus will include: How the Open Government Partnership, United Nations Convention Against Corruption and the 2016 Global Anti-Corruption Summit can help to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 16. Other sessions will focus on Engaging Legislatures and Developing Strong Legislative Commitments; Promoting Fiscal Transparency in Africa; The Role of Youth in the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals; A New Generation of Open Contracting in Africa; and A Fair Play Standard: Ending Corruption and Illicit Financial flows in Africa.

Source: NEPAD