The Presentation By Dr Francis Appiah, Executive Secretary, NAPRMGC

"The African Peeer Review Mechanism (Aprm) Process In Ghana: Challenges Of And Prospects For The Implementation Of Ghana's Programme Of Action," By Dr Francis Appiah, Executive Secretary, National African Peer Review Mechanism Governing Council, Nepad Secretariat Media Engagement, Accra, June 29, 2007.

Introduction

The world has become a fast changing and complex place shaped by the forces of competition, globalisation, liberalisation, regionalism and technological advancement. Whilst other regions of the world have taken advantage of these forces to foster business and investment opportunities and to spur growth and prosperity for their people, in Africa, poverty, squalor, underdevelopment and marginalisation continue to deepen.

There is no gainsaying that a major factor accounting for the inability of Africa to lift itself out of poverty and marginalisation is the inability of African Governments to foster democracy and good political governance, promote sound economic management, facilitate corporate governance and pursue socio-economic development.

It is to address these shortcomings that the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) invariably has made these thematic areas the four pillars on which its import rests in the Country Self-assessment process.

To address the topic of this paper, I shall discuss the following:

• The link between NEPAD and the APRM
• Ghana and the APRM process
• The role of civic participation in the implementation of the APRM
• Integrating the APRM Programme of Action and the GPRS II
• Challenges for Ghana's Programme of Action
• Prospects for the Ghana's Programme of Action

The Link Between NEPAD and APRM

The Country Self-Assessment Report of the Republic of Ghana on the implementation of the APRM has been prepared in the context of the country's embrace of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD. This is an African development initiative approved by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and endorsed by the African Union (AU). NEPAD provides a developmental vision for Africa and is conceived as a home-grown, African owned, designed and self-managed comprehensive development agenda. It has been put together by African leaders in a fresh attempt to move the continent out of its socio-economic predicament and marginalisaiton in the process of globalisaiton. NEPAD seeks to develop a new partnership first and foremost among African Governments and their people so that Africans can be the architects and builders of their own socio-economic development.

Whilst NEPAD acknowledges that external factors like several years of slavery and colonialism, unequal terms of trade, the debt burden and conditional lending among others have contributed to Africa's underdevelopment it maintains that charity must begin at home. In its honest and critical diagnosis of the African condition, NEPAD admits that leadership failure lies at the heart of the crisis of development confronting the continent. Leaders who pursued military adventurism, one-party rule and dictatorship, ran centrally planned economies, corruption and mal-administration and marginalized civil society participation and social movements ruined Africa's development.

Through a sustained struggle for freedom, liberty and development, Africa has now been blessed with a new breed of leaders and a vibrant civic society with the political will, determination and commitment to confront the developmental challenges of ordinary peoples. Turning away from the old Africa, these leaders and civil society do not only believe in democracy and good political governance they also accept that they have the primary responsibility to overcome the poverty and deprivation facing the continent.

As part of measures to demonstrate that the emerging new African leaders are committed to the implementation of NEPAD, the second meeting of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) of NEPAD in Abuja, Nigeria, on March 26, 2002 endorsed the establishment of an African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

The APRM is an instrument voluntarily acceded to by Member States of the African Union as an African self-monitoring mechanism that will 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.

Ghana And The APRM Process

Ghana is a country that is traditionally committed to the spirit of Pan-Africanism. Besides, Ghana currently has a political leadership that is steeped in the principle that democracy and development are inextricably linked. In particular under the Constitution adopted in 1992, the Government of Ghana has resolved to entrench democracy and good governance not only in Ghana but in other African countries as well. To this end, Ghana has the firm belief that the APRM is an instrument that can foster an enabling environment for the development and progress of Africans.

Ghana was the first country in Africa to make a public declaration to volunteer to accede to the APRM and was also the first country to initiate the implementation of the APRM. With the presentation of the Country Self-Assessment Report and Programme of Action to the APRM Panel, Ghana became the premier country to submit itself to peer review by other African countries.

The Role Of Civic Participation In The Implementation Of The APRM

To ensure that the Country Self-Assessment Report is transparent, democratic, participatory and a true reflection of the generality of what Ghanaians have assessed as the state governance in the four areas, civic participation from all parts of the country and from all walks of life were actively engaged in the implementation of the process. They included the private sector, academia, trade unions, farmers, market women, faith based organisations, professional bodies, gender advocacy groups, traditional rulers, persons with disability, youth groups, etc.

In a nutshell the APRM provides a channel that collects, collates and analyses civic participation and contribution to policy-making in the four thematic areas. It has therefore become an innovative institutional mechanism and an official mouth piece for the otherwise disparate and diverse civic articulations and yearning to participate in the policy making process. Through it the country is guided to mobilize civic efforts to implement the necessary changes that can foster improvements in the state of political, economic, corporate and social governance. This is done through a conscious effort to empower civic participation and to build social capital as the foundation of turning around the developmental misfortunes of yester years.

To this end civic participation in the APRM is anchored on a number of sound principles and critical success factors that include:

• National ownership and leadership by the entire citizenry
• Open, participatory, all-inclusive, broad-based and non-partisan process implementation
• Transparency, free from political manipulation, organizational independence and stakeholder accountability and
• Technical competence, professionalism, impartiality, credibility and process integrity as the basis for arriving at the Ghana Assessment Report and the Programme of Action.

Integrating The Aprm Programme Of Action And The GPRS II

To ensure that the Ghana National Programme of Action (GNPOA) builds on existing development policy processes like the GPRS, National Economic Dialogue, Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks and other ongoing institutional reforms a number of measures were taken.

First, APRM focal persons were appointed in all Ministries, Departments and Agencies. They provided relevant information on ongoing institutional reforms that could be integrated into the GNPOA.

Second, civic participation teams through their desk research and fieldwork captured the existing programmes and institutional reforms unfolding in the country in the Self-Assessment Report and these were subsequently factored into GNPOA.

Third and most important, the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) which is responsible for preparing the country's GPRS II was first directed by Government to draw on the findings of the APRM and second to ensure the GNPOA was mapped onto the preparation of the final GPRS II. The NDPC offered staff that contributed expert advice and actually provided a hands-on assistance in preparing the GNPOA.

To ensure an effective graft of the GNPOA onto the GPRS II, the former was divided into short, medium and long terms to fit into the medium term framework of the latter. Besides, all the governance components in the GNPOA, GPRS II and other related documents were pulled together systematically into a single reference document which became the Pillar Three of the Ghana Consultative Group Document. This is aimed at achieving a convergence with development partners in respect of their assistance to implement the GNPOA.

To provide budgetary cover and ensure implementation of the GNPOA by MDAs, the President has tasked the M&E Unit of the Office of President which is under the President's Chief Advisor to track progress, report on the status of implementation and identity gaps that need to be fixed. It has to be added that this is being done in collaboration with the Governing Council.

With civic participation as the payload of the APRM process, this has been made the fulcrum in the design of an effective Monitoring and Evaluation system. To this end, civic leaders have been made focal persons in all districts and they have been trained to build their capacity to be effective M&E players in the implementation of the GNPOA. There is also collaboration with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) which has offices through out the country. The NCCE in this way assists in public education and awareness creation and also provide offices that serve as local secretariat for the districts.

The APRM Governing Council which is in itself composed of civic actors and has an independent oversight role for the entire APRM process will also every six months prepare a report on progress made in respect of implementation of the GNPOA to the APR Panel which is an independent body set up by the African Union and based in South Africa. Even more critical, this independent report will be validated by civic participation to ensure its objectivity, independence and integrity.

NEPAD Secretariat Capacity Development Initiative

Recognising that the POA holds potential to address the gaps, deficiencies, weaknesses and shortfalls in our governance processes, the NEPAD Secretariat has come up with a capacity development initiative to support the effective implementation of the GNPOA. This seeks to build the capacity of MDAs to efficiently implement the GNPOA. It does so within the new development paradigm introduced by NEPAD and the APRM. In effect this initiative challenges the old assumptions that informed earlier capacity development programmes. At core it argues that contemporary capacity development in Africa must be anchored on knowledge and competencies that are informed by democracy and good political governance, sound economic management, corporate growth and socio-economic development. Ghana is the first country to benefit from this NEPAD Secretariat Capacity Development initiative.

Challenges For Ghana's Programme Of Action

Having regard to the successful implementation of the GNPOA a number of challenges could be delineated.

These include:

• Sustained media interest to sensitise, educate, create awareness and ownership among the populace to make the APRM a house-hold word
• The knowledge, skills and competencies of civil society to participate effectively in the M&E of the APRM
• The willingness of professional civil society organisaitons with the requisite competencies, know-how, knowledge and skills to participate in the implementation process without financial compensation
• The sustained prioritisaiton of the GNPOA by the MDAs
• Availability of financial, technical and institutional resources to railroad the GNPOA
• Sustainability of the APRM on the political front burner
• Maintaining public awareness on the impact of the implementation of the GNPOA on their welfare
• The slow pace and lack of commitment, political will and leadership by some African countries that my dampen civic confidence in the process.

Prospect for Ghana's Programme of Action

Whilst the challenges are daunting there are however, ample prospects that favour the implementation of the GNPOA. These include:

• Support from the NEPAD Secretariat to build capacity around the implementation of the GNPOA
• International support by organisations like the AU, UN system, EU, G8 and others in the APRAM
• Greater show of confidence, enthusiasm and vibrancy on the part of civil society organisaitons to participate and to monitor and evaluate implementation of the GNPOA
• Strong political leadership and commitment to the implementation of the GNPOA
• A national bi-partisan acceptance and commitment to the APRAM as holding promise
• Indication by development partners to provide resources in support of the implementation of the GNPOA
• The tracking of progress by Parliament by holding Government accountable
• Ghana as the lead country in the process and the spotlight pressure that comes with this
• The condition to submit a bi-annual progress report to the APR Panel by the Governing Council
• The condition to submit a yearly progress report by the President to his colleague Heads of State

Conclusion

The implementation of Ghana's Programme of Action from the fore-going cannot be divorced from an effective and vibrant civic participation. This process is essentially crafted as a development dialogue between Government and citizens. This is the very essence of the new partnership that Africa has now come to realize is the path towards progress. For sure it is a new dawn and a new and uncharted terrain with its risks and uncertainties that can turn it into an unfruitful adventure. The good news, however, is that the APRM presents African leaders and their peoples with a compass to chart this new course. And in so doing they seek to draw on their own ideas and solutions hammered out on the anvil of painful post-colonial experiences in poverty, under-development and marginalisation. It is how civic participation shall become an entrenched part of this process and move away from consultation to influence that the sun will begin to set on the new Africa under discovery by the APRM.