President Akufo-Addo today swore in new members of the Governing Council of the National African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
They included Most Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante, Richard Quayson, Samuel Akuamoah Asare, Laud Mansfield Baddoo, Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, Kathleen Quartey Ayensu, and David Asante-Apeatu.
That was, however, not without a charge for them to oversee Ghana’s second review under the Peer Review Mechanism.
As people he holds in high esteem, President Akufo-Addo was confident the seven (7) member Council will discharge the mandate of their new appointment satisfactorily.
The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) was adopted by Member States of the African Union (AU), within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), as a self-monitoring tool.
It serves as a vehicle for sharing experiences, reinforcing best practices, identifying deficiencies, and assessing capacity-building needs to foster policies, standards, and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated regional and continental integration.
According to the President, Ghana’s role in the APRM has been pivotal since its inception, stating that “following Ghana’s accession to the APRM, a National African Peer Review Mechanism Council was established and inaugurated in 2004 to provide the needed oversight for the implementation of the APRM process in the country.”
He recalled, “we fulfilled our primary mandate through the conduct of the first-ever country self-assessment. Under the leadership of the 2nd President of Ghana’s 4th Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, Ghana became the first country to offer to be peer-reviewed in 2006 at the AU Summit in Khartoum, and continues to contribute to the APRM process on the continent.”
He reiterated Ghana’s commitment to the African Peer Review Mechanism and her determination to submit herself to a second review.
For him, “the realisation of this will mean that Ghana can join others on the continent who have undertaken their second reviews.”
President Akufo-Addo assured the Governing Council of his government’s determination to ensure the second review is done, “so our country can continue to maintain and strengthen its status as a trailblazer of good governance in West Africa”.
Despite the issues of insufficient budgetary allocation and office accommodation, the President applauded the Council for the work it has done so far and gave his word the deficiencies will be soon addressed.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent