2017-01-30Staff Report 2 Staff Reporter Windhoek-Namibia has voluntarily decided to unconditionally join the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), President Hage Geingob announced on Saturday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during a meeting with APRM chief executive officer Eddy Makola. In acceding to the APRM, Namibia becomes the 36th African Union member to do so. “Namibia believes this mechanism, geared towards fostering the adoption of policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated economic integration, will play a pivotal role in enabling Africa to achieve the noble aspirations and developmental goals of Agenda 2063 and its first ten-year implementation plan,” said Geingob. Geingob, who departed for Addis Ababa on Friday to attend the African Union (AU) Heads of State Summit, said mechanisms such as the APRM provide Namibia with an opportunity to introspectively interrogate its processes, systems and institutions in order to identify shortcomings, while at the same time identify its strengths. “With many of our governments having adopted a number of policies and ratified countless instruments, it is only through implementation of the APRM that we will achieve tangible far-reaching results,” he said. According to Geingob, the voluntary nature of the APRM allows member states to openly and realistically evaluate and monitor developmental progress in a friendly peer-peer atmosphere. “As many of you may be aware, Namibia has always supported the APRM since its inception. However, during that time Namibia and Botswana were considered worldwide as good examples of democracy in Africa and we therefore decided to abstain from joining the APRM as we did not want to be used as a point of reference against our fellow African countries,” he said. He added: “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena can only be achieved if we are united and pull in the same spirit of Harambee.” “The prosperity of our respective nations is the prosperity of the whole continent.” Therefore, he said, what Namibia wants to achieve are positive effects and results stemming from sound governance structures, policies and programmes that are aimed at eradicating poverty, and achieving inclusive and sustainable economic growth geared towards raising the standard of living. The APRM was established in 2003 by the New Partnership for Africa (Nepad) Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee as an instrument for monitoring performance in governance among member states. The APRM is a self-monitoring instrument and its membership is voluntary. 2017-01-30Staff Report 2
