Governance forum ends with call for speedier implementation of APRM
By Martha Mogus

Kigali, 12 May - The Sixth African Governance Forum (AGF-VI) closed in the Rwandan capital Kigali on Thursday following three days of talks on the challenges of implementing the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

The closing session was attended by President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and his counterpart from Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore. This was the first time heads of state have been present at an African Governance Forum.

Both presidents remarked that the continent’s development rested primarily on the shoulders of African continent’s people. They felt that the APRM had a critical role to play in this development process.

“Our partners have been telling us what we should do and what they like about us,” noted Kagame. The APRM, he said, would “provide us with an opportunity to be credible”.

While the voluntary nature of the APRM was often praised as a sign that countries which had signed up to it were displaying a commitment to the process, questions were raised over its sustainability whenever there was a leadership change.

Presenting the Forum’s report, South Africa’s Minister of Public Service and Administration Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi stressed the need for a speedier implementation of the APRM through the constant adjustment of instruments, processes and institutional arrangements. The report also called for deepening understanding of the APRM through better advocacy and communication.

AGF VI was attended by over 400 delegates from the 25 countries that have signed up to the APRM process, as well as by donors and the media. The event was organized by ECA, UNDP, the African Development Bank and the APR Secretariat.

The African Governance Forum was established in 1997 in the context of the-then UN Special Initiative on Africa, under which ECA and UNDP shared responsibility for improving coordination and collaboration in the implementation of UN programmes. The initiative was also aimed at helping mobilize resources regionally and in-country. As a result African governments, civil society, international organizations and other interested groups were able to use the Forum as a unique opportunity for open dialogue on the state of governance on the continent.

Related Link: http://www.undp.org/agf/