New International Standards for Governance: applying the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)

by Claver Gatete
Personal Representative of the President of Rwanda on NEPAD Steering Committee

11-14 October 2004
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

In sharing the Rwandan experiencing in undertaking the APRM process in Rwanda, I will focus on the following:

• Background on reasons for Rwanda's interest in APRM;
• Updates on APR process implementation in Rwanda;
• Key constraints in APR process implementation; and
• Strategy to overcome some of these constraints.

Background

Despite the significant economic and social progress made in the recent past, Rwanda still faces heavy challenges, mainly related to poor Governance that led to 1994 genocide, geography, economic structure and the legacy of genocide. The challenges include:

1) Insufficient or ineffective political governance structures;

2) High population growth and density;

3) Low agricultural productivity and environmental degradation;

4) Weak and small private sector;

5) Weak financial sector leading to low savings and investments;

6) Limited employment opportunities and low level of human resource development;

7) Narrow export base and vulnerability to external price shocks;

8) High transport costs as Rwanda is a landlocked country;

9) High cost of energy;

10) A narrow revenue base and dependence on foreign resources, which has led to a heavy external debt burden; and

11) A weak public sector with low capacity.

The above challenges are being addressed within the context of the Rwanda Vision 2020, Poverty Reduction Strategy, National Investment Strategy and on- going institutional and structural reforms undertaken within the poverty reduction and growth facility (PRGF) framework. In order to address the poor governance issue, since 1994 key governance structures have been established and are now functional. These include, among others:

1. Unity & Reconciliation Commission;
2. Human Rights Commission;
3. Office of Auditor General;
4. Office of Ombudsman;
5. National Tender Board;
6. Rwanda Revenue Authority;
7. Budget reform;
8. Judicial reform;
9. Reform of the National Assembly (it now includes the Senate);
10. Drafting of the new constitution;
11. Rwanda investment and Export Promotion Agency,
12. Centre for the promotion of the small and medium size enterprises;
13. Rwanda Bureau of Standards,
14. Privatisation program, etc...

However, these initiatives are not sufficient to address the Governance challenges facing Rwanda given her dark history that led to genocide. Given the strong Government leadership and determination to build a conducive Governance environment for the Rwandese, the Rwandan Government considers APRM as an opportunity to contribute to this vision by learning from the best practices in all areas of Governance.

UPDATE ON APR PROCESS AND IMPLEMENTATION

APR process

• First, a country assesses herself, in the above named focus areas, pointing out how she is doing in the given indicators,

• The country comes up with a Program of Action (POA),

• A Country Review Visit takes place, under the leadership of the APR Panel of Eminent Persons (APR panel),

• This team then drafts a country Report,

• The teams Report and the final POA are submitted to APR Secretariat, then to the APR Panel and finally to the APR forum, consisting of the participating Heads of State and Government for final decisions and formulation of actions deemed necessary,

• The Report will then be publicly tabled in key regional and sub regional structures and organizations e.g. Pan African Parliament, COMESA

The APR process is not a one-time process. It is continuous as the country being reviewed is expected to implement the program of action (POA).

Update on APRM implementation in Rwanda

• APRM focuses on four areas: Democracy and Good Governance; Economic Governance and Management; Corporate Governance and Socio economic Development;

• Currently, 23 countries have acceded to APRM (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Rwanda, South Africa, Malawi, Lesotho, Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin, Sierra Leone, Congo (Brazzaville), Gabon, Cameroon, Algeria and Egypt);

• Rwanda signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to accede to APRM on 9th March 2003;

• So far 4 countries have undergone the initial peer review (to check the process, procedure, institutional arrangements, status of self assessment work and signing of MOU for technical review visits) by APR support mission (APR Secretariat, ECA, ADB and UNDP). These include: Ghana, Rwanda, Mauritius and Kenya;

• The first APR Summit took place in Kigali in Feb 2004;

• First national stakeholders' workshop took place on 2Sh and 26th March 2004);

• This was followed by retreats and validation workshops (March -May 2004);

• APR support mission visit to Rwanda (led by the Chairperson of APR panel of Eminent Persons, Mrs. Angelique Savane) took place on 21-24 June 2004. The mission approved the national plan to complete the national self Assessment Report by end September 2004;

• The APR support mission appreciated, among other things, the institutional arrangement put in place by the Government:

• Establishment of an APR focal point and the NEP AD secretariat;

• Initiated background work necessary for the self assessment and peer review;

• Identified and appointed a National Commission,

• Establishment of an inclusive process of stakeholder participation;

• The technical APR review team will take place in October 2004 and Final Country Report is expected to be completed by December 2004;

• The sixth African Governance Forum will take place in Kigali in December 2004 sponsored by UNDP and ECA (one of the key reasons for the visit of UNDP Director to Rwanda);

• On 23 July 2004, NEP AD Secretariat was invited by the National Assembly to update them on NEP AD programs and APR process;

• On 24 -26 July 2004, the first meeting of the APR National Commission was held at AKAGERA Game Lodge. The purpose of this meeting was to explain more on NEPAD and APRM to members of the APR National Commission and to draw a road map of activities for the months of July, August and September 2004. During the same meeting the National Commission was sub-divided into four Sub-Commissions, each Sub- Commission focusing on a particular theme (democracy and good political governance, corporate governance, socio-economic development and economic governance and management).

Plan of Activities and the Way Forward

The meeting of the APR National Commission emphasized the importance for serious consideration of the recommendations made by the support mission.

After the AKAGERA meeting, a series of meetings and consultations by the sub - commissions have taken place and more work continues as par the above schedule.

Mandate of the APR National Commission

The mandate of the APR National Commission includes, among others, the following:

• They represent all stakeholders at the national level,

• Oversight function to ensure inclusiveness, integrity and coordination,
  .Assist the APR focal point on the preparation and implementation of programs,

• Help in identifying key areas of concern and ensuring technical competence in carrying out the review process,

• Assist in drawing up and implementing the National Program of Action.

• Link national processes to local level processes,

• Provide information, especially about local circumstances and ensure national ownership and commitment as well as local accountability,

• Be available for consultation during the peer review by the external reviewers.

NB: Arrangements are underway to get a Policy Institute (AIPA) from South Africa to give backstopping of the APR process preparations in Rwanda. The training of the civil society has already been carried (early October) by the South African Institute of International Affairs.

Key constraints in APR process implementation:

• Given the various process -and programs already in the country, there was need to explain APRM and NEP AD within the context of the national vision, policies and programs. Some of these process and programmes include: UNDP's UNDAF, World Banks' country assistance strategy, vision 2020, PRSP, PRGF, MTEF, national investment strategy, sectoral strategies, etc... This sensitization campaign took significant amount of energy and time;

• Consultation fatigue -There are already quite a number of consultations going in the country. These include: PRSP, sector strategies & development plans, gacaca (non-traditional form of justice), corruption, HIV / AIDS, 4evelopment programs for women and youth, decentralization, Unity and Reconciliation, etc... We had to devise different mechanisms to consult with various stakeholders;

• Translating and explaining the APRM questionnaire in a language that ordinary people can easily understand;

• Time consuming exercise, but a lot of learning also; .The process is expensive in terms of logistics required, preparations of workshops, conferences and meetings allover the country. The establishment of a NEPAD trust fund with the support of UNDP was helpful to ease the burden. But for subsequent periods, it will indeed be cheaper;

• However, the great advantage we have is the high level of political commitment in the country.

Strategies to overcome some of these constraints:

• We have divided the APR National Commission into four sub- commissions (headed by members of private sector, civil society and Parliament) for each sector (Democracy & Political Governance, Economic Governance & Management, Corporate Governance and Socio- economic Development. This helped in streamlining consultations with various stakeholders;

• We selected and trained focal points from members of civil society, private sector, community based organization, etc.. to lead consultation process in their respective organizations and sectors on APR process;

• We enlarged the national technical review teams to gather the necessary information from stakeholders, prepare background documents in all four areas, consul with various organizations and compile the necessary supporting documents, among others;
  We targeted specialized groups in civil society, private sector, parliament, women, youth, etc..;

• We sensitized accounting officers so to include the APR programme of action in their budget process;

• Use of foreign expertise from Kenya and South Africa (South African Institute of International Affairs, African Institute of Policy Analysis) to train civil society and add value to the self assessment work;

• We also compile issues that require learning from best practices, e.g., public expenditure management, election experiences, unity and reconciliation, countries where certain corporate standards have been successful, etc..;

• Educated the donor community to participate in APR meetings and contribute (we hold monthly meetings with them); and

• We have successful used the media to promote NEP AD and APRM (weekly newspaper articles, discussions on TV, adverts on APRM, etc..). We intend to extend it to Comedies, sports, songs and dances in the future.