APRM Heads of States to deliberate on good governance in Africa

By Special Reporter, Addis Ababa

The Heads of State and Government of the African countries participating in the APRM process will meet in Addis Ababa today on the margins of the 24th AU Summit. The theme of this year's meeting will be "2015 Year of Women Empowerment and Development towards Agenda 2063" which is in line with APRM's thematic objective of promotion of women empowerment and gender equality.

Currently, there are 34 countries participating in the process and Ivory Coast is expected to sign the accession agreement making a total of 35 countries. These countries represent more than 80 percent of the African population. 

Speaking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the APRM Tanzania Executive Secretary, Rehema Twalib said after operating for about a decade, it has been found imperative to further improve the effectiveness, credibility and acceptability of the Mechanism through integration with the African Union structures.

“Towards this end, and subsequent to the approval by the Heads of State and Government in June 2014, the meeting will receive a roadmap focusing on the processes, institutional structures and programmatic arrangements during the integration process. It is expected that by June 2015, the APRM will be fully integrated into the AU structures, and the APRM Forum will submit periodic implementation reports during AU Summits,” she said.

During the meeting members will share progress reports on the implementation of the National Programme of Action for Benin and Sierra Leone for mutual learning and constructive peer dialogue aimed at encouraging the countries to consolidate their best practices and exchange ideas on how best to address identified challenges.

On his part Mr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, the Interim APRM CEO said: "As Africans we need to develop an African knowledge hub that will tell our own story. Such a hub will benefit even the non- APRM member countries, all in the spirit of fostering the development of the entire continent.”

Tanzania is among the 34 countries participating in the APRM process. Currently, Tanzania is implementing its National Programme of Action after successful peer review in 2013, aimed at addressing the challenges identified in the Country Review Report.

It is expected that the first progress report for Tanzania will be submitted to the Forum of Heads of State and Government in June 2015 after a thorough consultation with stakeholders countrywide. At the level of the continent, in acknowledgement of Tanzania as one of the exemplary flag bearers in promotion of democracy, rule of law, conducive business environment and good governance, the country has been picked as one of the hosts of a series of APRM sensitization  workshops representing the Eastern Africa region.