Addis Ababa, Ethiopia- The APRM held an eventful 26th Summit of Heads of State and Government Participating in the African Peer Review Mechanism [APR Forum] on 28 January 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Forum witnessed (four) 4 Peer Reviews and the accession of its 36th Member Country, the Republic of Namibia.

President of Kenya and Chairperson of the APR Forum, H. E. Uhuru Kenyatta, commended the Governments of the APRM Member Countries for their openness in recounting their successes and challenges in the peer review process.

“The progress made on the African continent in areas such as health, education, energy, security, communication and transport, and elaborated on contemporary challenges facing the continent cannot be overemphasised,” said the APR Forum Chair.

Speaking at the Forum, President of the Republic of Namibia, H.E. Dr. Hage Geingob acknowledged the relevance of APRM and stressed that the “Mechanisms such as the APRM provide us with an opportunity to introspectively interrogate our processes, systems and institutions in order to identify shortcomings, while at the same time identifying our strengths. The Namibian President further elaborated that with many of our Governments having adopted a number of policies and ratified countless instruments, it is only through the implementation of the APRM that we will achieve tangible far-reaching results.

The Forum also Peer Reviewed Djibouti, Chad and Senegal along with the first-ever APRM Second Review, for Kenya. Peer Review is a process that takes place at the level of the APR Forum, using the APR Panel’s report on the Country Review Team’s findings as a basis. The APR Forum discusses these recommendations with the Reviewed Country’s leadership.

Kenya was applauded for being the first APRM Member State to undertake the second generation review and President Uhuru Kenyatta was also lauded for his leadership in the integration and development of the Eastern Africa Region.

The 26th APR Forum appointed Professor Mahamoud Youssouf Khayal of Chad, as the Chairperson of the APR Panel of Eminent Persons and South Africa’s Brigitte Sylvia Mabandla as the Vice-Chairperson. It further appointed Prof. Augustin Loada (Burkina Faso), Bishop Don Dinis Salomão Sengulane (Mozambique), Fatma Zohra Karadia (Algeria), Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari (Nigeria), Amb Mona Omar Attia (Egypt), and Amb Ombeni Yohana Sefue (Tanzania) in place of the outgoing Panel Members.

The Forum bade farewell and recognised the outgoing Panel Members for their exceptional contribution and commitment towards the Mechanism. The outgoing Panel Members are Ambassador Ashraf Rashed (Egypt), H.E. Edem Kodjo (Togo), Ambassador Fatuma Ndangiza (Rwanda), Dr. Mustapha Mekideche (Algeria), and Honorable Joseph Tsang Mang Kin (Mauritius).

At the Forum the APRM also signed Memorandum of Understanding with the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the United Nations Economic for Africa (UNECA) as Strategic Partners.

The Republic of Zambia also presented its Progress Report.