Minister Membe to brief APRM meeting on governance status
By Hassan Abbas, Addis Ababa – The Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Bernard Membe is on Friday expected to brief governance experts from all over the African region on his country’s implementation of the African Union governance assessment instrument-the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM Tanzania).
Minister Membe whose portfolio includes facilitating the APRM process in Tanzania will have the opportunity to brief more than 100 APRM officials from 31 African countries participating in the Mechanism as a Pre-Summit meeting before President Jakaya Kikwete presents the country’s report to his peers on Saturday.
Speaking in Addis Ababa today (Thursday) the APRM Tanzania Executive Secretary, Ms Rehema Twalib said the APRM Pre-Summit meeting will act as preparatory stage for the countries of Zambia and Tanzania which are expected to be reviewed on Saturday.
“Minister Membe is expected to use the meeting to brief other APRM Ministers and senior officials on the preparedness of Tanzanian President, Jakaya Kikwete to face his peers,” she said.
According to the program of events released by the Continental APRM Secretariat in the meetings which take place in the margins of the AU Ordinary Summit here, Presidents of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete and his Zambian neighbour, Michael Sata will be reviewed on Saturday, 26th January, 2013.
APRM is mandated to periodically review progress on good governance through wide consultations of the people at the national level and then a country is finally reviewed by its peers-the rest of the African Heads of States and Governments for constructive discussions on how to move ahead.
The President Jakaya Kikwete confirmed his participation in the review meeting after a meeting with officials from the APRM Tanzania- a local secretariat of the Continental wide body at State House in Dar es Salaam on Thursday last week in Dar es Salaam.
Tanzania signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to join the APRM on the 26th May, 2004 and secured formal admission into the process on the 8th July 2004. On the 1st February, 2005 the Tanzanian Parliament ratified the APRM Memorandum of Understanding.
A team of APRM Tanzania led by the chairmen of National Governing Council, Prof. Hasa Mlawa, Member of APRM Tanzania Governing Council representing the National Assembly, MP John Magale Shibuda and other APRM Tanzania senior officials are already in Addis Ababa for the meetings.
