NAPRM conference takes off in Accra on Tuesday

Accra, May 4, GNA - The Governing Council of the National African Peer Review Mechanism (NAPRM) has described the upcoming continental conference of the APRM scheduled for Accra next week as a cardinal point to examine the progress of work done so far.

Briefing the media ahead of the event, Professor Samuel K. Adjepong, Chairman of the NAPRM - Governing Council said the conference to be held from May 8 to 10 was to make available work done so far and what steps had been taken to accelerate progress of work.

It would be under the theme, "Africa's bold March to Capture the 21st Century - The Role of the APRM". He said this would go a long way to affirm Ghana's leadership in the implementation of the APRM.

The APRM conference is significant, in that it takes places at a time when Ghana is celebrating its Golden Jubilee of nationhood and President John Agyekum Kufuor is Chairman of the African Union.

He said the conference would be on four thematic areas, namely, to reiterate the political vision behind the APRM, encourage as many African countries to embrace and implement the APRM and discuss best practices as regards the integration of the APRM National Programmes of Action into development strategies of African countries. It is also to foster dialogue between Africa and the G8 countries.

The conference would specifically discuss the status of implementation of the APRM on the continent and find ways to accelerate it while stimulating dialogue on Africa's partnership with G8 countries, leading to the forging of a common African position on its engagement with the G8 ahead of the African Partnership Forum with the G8. Presentations at the conference would cover the political vision behind the APRM, the APRM as an instrument to foster good governance with experiences from Rwanda, Kenya and Ghana. The meeting would make a declaration at the end of the programme, essentially stating a common position reached by participating countries to be presented by the Chairperson of the APRM panel to the African Partnership Forum on May 24 in Berlin.