18 November 2018 – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The APRM CEO, Prof Eddy Maloka on behalf of the entire APRM family, welcomed the decision of the AU to once again place good governance at the top of the continent’s agenda. At its 11th Extraordinary Session of the AU Summit, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government adopted a decision to increase investment and focus on the work of African Peer Review Mechanism, a good governance monitoring instrument for Africa.

The AU Assembly decision to fully integrate the APRM means the APRM is part of the AU budget, and this ensures that the mechanism has guaranteed resources to implement its mandate. In respect of this new status, the APRM is now required to present a comprehensive Report on the State of Governance in Africa. The maiden report will be presented in February 2019, by APR Forum Chairperson, H.E Idriss Deby Itno, and shall include concrete actions to be taken by the continent to improve governance in Africa.

In welcoming this decision Prof. Eddy Maloka, who has led the revitalisation of the APRM since February 2016, said “the AU decision opens a new chapter for the APRM and takes our work to a higher level”. He expressed his gratitude to the Executive Council for the support and guidance it provides on what needs to be done in moving forward to strengthen the APRM and consolidate its integration into the African Union. Prof. Maloka also gave special appreciation to his colleagues in the APRM Secretariat for their hard work and dedication.

In summary, the AU decision on full integration states as follows:

That the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) should be strengthened to track implementation and oversee monitoring and evaluation in key governance areas on the continent. Specifically, the Assembly;

• stressed the need for the APR Forum to hold its ordinary sessions on the margins of the AU Summit

• requested the AU Commission to ensure the APRM Forum is allocated and afforded adequate time to fully address its agenda

• directed that the APRM budget be integrated into the Statutory Union Budget funded by Member States.

• reiterated the need to strengthen the capacity of the APRM, in collaboration with the African Governance architecture, to deliver on its extended mandate, and enhance its functional autonomy.

• Requested the APRM to present an update on the State of Governance in Africa and to report to the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly scheduled to take place in February 2019.

In concluding, Prof Eddy Maloka said “we look forward to detailed engagement that will take place once we table the State of Governance Report. This step alone, to set aside adequate time for such crucial engagements is a shot in the arm for the work of Peer Review which we have been tasked with over the last 15 years”.

A Body of the African Union (AU), the APRM was established in 2003 by the African Union within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Since its establishment, the APRM has been at the forefront of the good governance movement in the continent, conducting country reviews, identifying strengths to share and deficiencies to rectify and developing ways and means by which to fill identified capacity-building needs to foster policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration.

The 18th November AU decision affirms the mechanism as a premier instrument for assessing and informing governance on the continent.