Leaders push for integration of African Peer Review Mechanism

Jan 29, 2016

Uhuru Kenyatta, Chairperson APRM, said it was imperative that leaders meet their budgetary obligations to ensure that the APRM became more effective and delivered on its mandate of improving governance on the continent

ADDIS ABABA - African leaders currently in Addis Ababa for the 26th AU Summit  are pushing for the integration of the African Peer Review Mechanism into the African Union system to make it more relevant and to provide the budget required for implantation of AU projects.

Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is the chairperson of APRM, told other leaders at the summit that it was imperative that they meet their budgetary obligations to ensure that the APRM became more effective and delivered on its mandate of improving governance on the continent.

The President, who spoke when he opened a special summit of the committee of Heads of State and Government participating in the African Peer Review Mechanism, called for strengthening of APRM's linkage with regional economic blocs and NEPAD programmes.

He said APRM, through which African countries subject themselves to standards they have to achieve for better governance, would become more relevant when linked to the implementation of frameworks such as the African Union's Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030.

"We must hasten the integration of the APRM in the African Union system. This will make the mechanism more credible, relevant, and visible at the continental stage and will give impetus to our revitalisation efforts," the President said.

Kenyatta, who took over the leadership of the APRM last year, called for the special summit to renew Africa's commitment to the review system for better governance.

So far, 37 countries have acceded to the system out of which 17 have been reviewed with Djibouti, Zambia and Tanzania being the latest countries to go through the review.

The APRM was established in 2003 to foster the adoption of policies, standards, and practices that would lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated sub-regional and continental integration through sharing of experiences and reinforcement of successful best practice.

The Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekand is heading Ugand's delegation to the summit.


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