President John Dramani Mahama has said Ghana is prepared to subject its governance systems to renewed scrutiny under the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), describing the process as essential for measuring progress and strengthening accountability.
He made the remarks after swearing in members of the National African Peer Review Mechanism Governing Council (NAPRM-GC) at the Presidency in Accra.
According to the President, the newly constituted council will steer Ghana’s second-generation peer review, which is expected to begin next week on the margins of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“We’re willing to do that and we’ll be available to lead that process,” President Mahama assured.
He recalled that Ghana was among the first countries to voluntarily submit itself to a comprehensive APRM review in 2006, adding that the exercise has long been a point of national pride.
“It’s been an issue of pride for us that Ghana’s democracy, accountable governance, and everything that we are noted for, will be subjected to review by our peers,” he said.
President Mahama noted that the first review exposed deep development disparities between northern Ghana and the southern parts of the country, a finding that influenced the creation of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA).
“The outcome was the reference to the huge gap between the deprived northern belt of Ghana and the south… So, we want to know what has happened to those inequalities and what the level of opportunities we have opened up in other parts of the country are,” he stated.
He said the new review will help government assess whether earlier interventions have delivered real change and guide future policy decisions.
The Governing Council is chaired by Ladyship Professor Akua Kuenyehia. In her brief remarks, she thanked the President for the confidence reposed in the team and pledged to safeguard the transparency and independence of the process.
Other members of the council include Dr Joseph Whittal, Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Joseph Obeng, Mr David Ofosu-Dorte, and Mrs Cornelia Amoah.
The African Peer Review Mechanism is a voluntary self-monitoring initiative established by the African Union in 2003 to promote good governance, political stability and sustainable development.
It encourages countries to assess policies and practices across democracy and political governance, economic management, corporate governance and socio-economic development.
ALSO READ:
