JOHANNESBURG - South African government, business and civil society groups pledged on Monday to tackle social problems highlighted by an African initiative to improve government accountability.

A press statement said Minister for Public Service and Administration Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi headed a workshop on a Programme of Action on issues outlined in the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

South Africa has denied accusations it has dragged its feet on the initiative, which urges African governments to open themselves up to scrutiny by a panel of senior African leaders and eventually receive ratings on their performance.

South Africa submitted its long-awaited response to the peer review at an African Union summit in Ghana in July, citing "factual errors" in the review as the reason for its delayed Programme of Action (POA).

The review had highlighted growing corruption, rampant crime and xenophobia, according to a leaked copy of the report obtained by Reuters.

"Some of the key issues emerging in all the group discussions included an acknowledgement that the POA could not be managed as `business as usual'," said the statement.

South Africa -- the continent's biggest economy -- has been described as a success story that sets an example for other African countries.

But it is struggling with one of the world's highest crime rates and high levels of unemployment allied with social unrest. Millions of South Africans still live on the sidelines of an economic boom after the country overcame decades of apartheid.

"The process of social dialogue amongst all stakeholders needs to be strengthened so that people are more aware of their rights," said the statement.

"Other key priority issues identified are crime, particularly violence against women and children, and the building of a non-racial society."

The country review, which is voluntary, was prepared by a team from the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and followed a self-assessment report submitted by South Africa after wide-ranging consultations involving civic groups, businesses and other sectors.

NEPAD was launched with great fanfare, but has yet to deliver much in the way of tangible benefits for Africa and some critics have dismissed it as ineffective.

So far, only a handful of countries have successfully gone through the review process even though 26 countries have signed a memorandum of understanding.

"In the Economic Governance thematic discussion, corruption was identified as a key cross-cutting issue. Service delivery improvement was prioritized and the civic services of home affairs in particular were identified as an area for strengthening and improvement," said the statement.

"Job creation was identified as another of the priority area along with a need to strengthen public consultation around policy making."