ECA Press Release 04/2013

Addis Ababa, 26 January, 2013 (ECA) - The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has over the course of the last decade, become "a trail-blazing event on the African continent and, indeed, the world" according to remarks by Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
today at a round table discussion made up of a panel of Heads of States of the forum.

Congratulating the Heads of States and Governments present at the session for "staying the course over the last decade," Mr. Lopes lauded the APRM, describing it as "a uniquely African institution
without precedent anywhere else in the world."

He noted that APRM provided an important means towards realizing NEPAD's goals and the mechanism is also a central component of NEPAD's transformative agenda that has swept this continent over the last decade - promoting ownership, leadership and transformation in terms of how we undertake development in Africa.

APRM has contributed to a paradigm shift about how we think about and do development and according to Lopes, the mechanism of self assessment; as well as policy dialogues and civil society engagement
among others have, "sought to promote a model of governance that would foster socio-economic development in Africa."

Its challenges are numerous and in order to strengthen the mechanism, Lopes proposed the need for champions within the APRM structure, together with its strategic partners "to rekindle the lost momentum
and make the APRM a truly African success story."

On challenges of implementing the outcomes of the APRM process, he said that most African countries realize the benign nature and potential of the APRM approach to development, in terms of  ownership
and leadership in the national governance systems - and would most likely to stick with it or join if not already a member.  However, he underlined that the issue is "how to muster the political will to completely implement the outcomes of the APRM process."

Furthermore, he noted that the emerging new generation of political leadership on the continent needs to be reflected on as most of the APRM pioneer leaders have now retired. "There is a need for the new
generation to find the APRM inspiring as collective governance effort that is necessary for the nascent political and economic transformation taking place on the continent, including the 'Arab Spring' in North Africa, or the imperative of using mineral wealth to transform African economies according to the remarks.

The objective of the forum is to highlight the key topics emerging from the APRM reviews, as well as other topical and pertinent developmental challenges facing the African Continent.

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