The University of Pretoria (UP) and the National School of Government (NSG) will collaborate to review academic papers on the successes and failures of BRICS countries in order to draw lessons from the approaches adopted in making BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) member countries more responsive to the needs of their citizens.

This was announced by Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration Dr Chana Pilane-Majake during the BRICS Conference on Governance and Public Administration Reform, hosted by the NSG in partnership with UP at the university’s Future Africa, a pan-African platform for collaborative research, ahead of the main 2023 BRICS Summit in August.

“I am pleased that the National School of Government of South Africa is partnering with the University of Pretoria to peer-review all the papers which will be published. For this, I congratulate all of you, and look forward to receiving my print copy,” Dr Pilane-Majake said. “I have been reliably informed that the conference received insightful and stimulating papers from more than 50 scholars, academics, and practitioners from BRICS-bloc governments, schools of government, higher education institutions, and related countries.”

She also thanked UP for its hospitality in hosting the conference, and said she hopes that the University will continue partnering with the government.

“Our focus is to build a partnership between BRICS and Africa to unlock mutually beneficial opportunities for increased trade, investment, and infrastructure,” Dr Pilane-Majake said. She also highlighted the government’s emphasis on issues affecting women and youth. “In this regard, South Africa’s five priorities for 2023 that are also women- and youth-focused are: Developing inclusive partnerships towards an equitable just transition; upscaling education and skills development for the future; unlocking opportunities through the African Continental Free Trade Area; strengthening post-pandemic socioeconomic recovery and realisation of [the UN’s] Agenda 2030 through sustainable development; and strengthening multilateralism, reform of global governance, institutions, and strengthening participation of women in peace processes.”  

The conference was attended by public affairs and administration practitioners and scholars from BRICS countries who discussed governance and public administration reforms that could contribute towards achieving accelerated growth and sustainable development through a capable public sector.

The 2023 BRICS Summit, which takes place in Johannesburg from 22 to 24 August, is the fifteenth annual summit, and will be held under the theme ‘BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism’.