Africa's peer review begins
Matome Sebelebele
8 March 2004
Africa's peer review panel, tasked with assessing African countries' adherence to principles of sound governance, begins its fact-finding missions in Ghana and Kenya next month, with Mauritius and Rwanda due to follow soon afterwards.
During its visits, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) will collect information on the countries' socio-economic and political policies. This information will form the basis for wide-ranging reports on the four countries, which will take six to eight months to complete and will be made public towards the end of the year.
Speaking from Pretoria last week, Chris Stals, a member of APRM's eminent persons panel, said he would be heading a six-member mission to Ghana in April, while one of his colleagues would go to Kenya.
The former South African Reserve Bank Governor said the peer
review process would remain free of political influence from African leaders, adding that their reports would not necessarily be popular with everybody.
"Our loyalty ... is not to an individual country or region. We will conduct an objective, independent assessment of policies that countries follow in the implementation of the ideals of Nepad [the New Partnership for Africa's Development, the socio-economic blueprint of the African Union]."
The peer review panel has issued an 80-page self-assessment questionnaire to member countries on their effectiveness in democratising institutions and fighting poverty, corruption and underdevelopment.
The document is not rigid, however, and each country will be assessed according to its own capacity to deliver, since almost all are at different stages of development.
Stals urged African governments and leaders to take the review process seriously, saying it would give Africa credibility. "You don't get a second chance to
make a first impression", he said.
Eighteen African countries have so far voluntarily agreed to be reviewed, Angola and Mali being the latest to join.
Stals said it was in African countries' "own interest" to open their political and financial books for scrutiny. Failure to do so, he said, would deny them investment opportunities by the private sector.
"I can assure you that the private sector and businesses, not only in Africa but especially in the rest of the world, are going to look at these reports very, very carefully when they take decisions on where they are going to invest in Africa", he said.
Each member country is required to deposit US$100 000 into the panel's bank account; additional funding will come from the international donor community, including G8 countries.
Former Guinea Reserve Bank governor Kerfalla Yansane has been appointed chief executive officer of the Johannesburg-based APRM secretariat, which will serve as the administrative
arm of the reviewing teams.
Source: BuaNews
| 
