What is Good Governance?

Good Governance involves making decisions and implementing the decisions in a manner that is participatory, consensus-oriented, accountable, transparent, effective and efficient, equitable, inclusive and guided by the rule of law.
Good Governance ensures that corruption is minimised, the views of minorities and the most vulnerable social groups are taken into account in decision-making and policies are implemented in a manner that promotes sustainable development.

What are the objectives of the APRM?

The objectives of the APRM are primarily to foster the adoption of policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration through experience sharing and reinforcement of successful and best practices, including identifying deficiencies and assessment of requirements for capacity building.

How do countries become members of the APRM process?

Membership of the APRM is voluntary and open to all member countries of the African Union (UA). The process of accession usually starts with a country’s expression of interest to become a member of the APRM, which is then followed by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the country and the APRM Forum at any of the Biannual AU/APRM Summits. The MoU was adopted in Abuja, Nigeria, in March 2003. The annual contribution from each member country is 100,000 $ US.

How is an APRM Review Conducted?

The APRM Review Mission is only one part of the overall Peer Review Process. A typical Review Mission may last for two and a half to three weeks, excluding the preparatory team meetings and the writing of the Country Review Report.
The first week of a review mission is usually spent in the capital, with the second week and possibly part of a third week in the regions or provinces. Since individual country reviews will have differences as a result of country specificities, review programmes are subject to variance.

The Mission meets with all national stakeholders, including Government Departments; Civil Society, including Religious Organizations, Academia, Minorities, Trade Unions; Members of the Judiciary; Parliament and Political Parties; Local Government Representatives; Women’s Organizations; Youth Groups; the Private Sector including the Informal Sector Business Federations and/or Operators, Chambers of Commerce, Commercial Banks, Insurance Companies, SME Federations, Professional Bodies - Chartered Accountants, the Legal Profession, etc.

Who is the President of the APR Forum?

The current president of the APR Forum is His Excellency  Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Who are the current Members of the APR Panel?

• Barrister Julienne Ondziel Gnelenga is a national of the Republic of Congo, and is a Commissioner at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. From 1998-2001 she also served as the Special Rapporteur on Women’s Rights in Africa (SRRWA). Barrister Gnelenga is a lawyer by training and serves as the Central Africa representative at the ECOSOCC General Assembly. She is also a Member of the Board of the Association for the Prevention of Torture.

• Barrister Akere T. Muna is founder and former president of Transparency International Cameroon. He is also Vice-Chair on the Transparency International Board. Barrister Muna is a lawyer by training, and is President of the Pan African Lawyers Union and former President of the Cameroon Bar Association. In September 2008, he was unanimously elected President of the First Permanent General Assembly of ECOSOCC.

• Prof. Amos Sawyer was the President of the Interim Government of National Unity in Liberia from November 1990 to March 1994. He has served as Associate Director and Research Scholar, Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis in the Department of political science at Indiana University in the United States, and is currently Chairman of the Governance Commission of Liberia. In 2005, he wrote the book “Beyond Plunder: Toward Democratic Governance in Liberia.”