President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday ended his term as Chairman of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) handing over to Chad President Idriss Derby Itno.
Speaking in Addis Ababa during the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State, President Kenyatta ended his two-year term urging the 18 AU states that hadn't acceded to the mechanism to do so.
“We have made great strides since I took the stewardship of the APRM in June 2015. These include the revitalization of the Mechanism. The membership reached 37 members of the African Union, after Gambia acceded at the 27th APR Forum Summit at the weekend.
"As I end my tenure of Office and hand over to my Brother, President Idriss Derby Itno (of Chad), I am confident that the APRM will bank on the gains we have made in the past two years, to achieve even greater results under the incoming leadership." he conveyed.
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday"]
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President Kenyatta spoke when he presented a report on Africa's peer review efforts covering the last two years as the 30th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly came to a close at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
Outlining the achievements of his tenure of two years, the President said six countries – Djibouti, Senegal, Chad, Sudan, Kenya and Uganda – were reviewed.
To achieve this, President Kenyatta noted that a committee to resuscitate and rejuvenate the mechanism was set up in 2016.
“The mechanism developed its first strategic plan, and strengthened the financial, material and human capacity of the secretariat. This revitalization programme has yielded a lot to ensure that the APRM moves forward,” President Kenyatta said.
He added that a dynamic new Chief Executive Officer of the APRM Secretariat, Professor Eddy Maloka, was appointed at the January 2016 Summit and under his watch, the APRM undertook a series of systematic, all-encompassing and sustained efforts that advanced the revitalization Agenda.
The mechanism further developed tools and methodologies in accordance with the goals and aspirations of the AU Agenda 2063 and UN Sustainable Developmental Goals 2030.
President Kenyatta further explained that the mechanism also broadened and strengthened its partnerships, bringing on board an additional two strategic partners – the MO Ibrahim Foundation and the Africa Capacity Building Foundation – in addition to the UNDP, UN Economic Commission for Africa and African Development Bank.
[caption caption="The Heads of Stated during the AU session"]
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“These partners brought added technical capacity and credibility to the APRM,” the President pointed out, adding that APRM – in coordination with stakeholders – developed its statute that has given a legal persona and institutional integrity befitting a continental governance assessment body.
