State institutions and civil society have been commended for the positive impact they have made on the governance of the country.

A member of the governing council of African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Ghana, Samuel Asare Akuamoah, who made the observation, said most of the legislations, social and economic interventions implemented in the country since joining the APRM were the recommendations of Ghanaians.

He explained that after its first peer review in 2006, the APRM made several recommendations which were incorporated into the country’s development agenda document by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC).

Consequently, he said, all state institutions and civil society were guided by this development agenda document which explained why the country had been able to initiate key social intervention programmes such as the School Feeding Programme and Capitation Grant, as well as passed key legislations including the Domestic Violence Act and the Disability Act.

He said that also led to the introduction of economic transformation and social services such as the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Review of Corporate Tax, Constitutional Review Process and the creation of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture which resulted in national peace and security.

“So APRM has brought a lot of benefits since its inception, through its many recommendations. The free maternal health care, Northern Development Fund, Metro Mass Transportation and Livelihood Empowerment Programme (LEAP) were all part of the social intervention programmes that the APRM recommendations brought up. 

“If you look at the passage of legislations such as the Whistle Blower Protection Act, Amendment to the Criminal Code and Human Trafficking Act, they were also part of the recommendations,” he said.

Mr Akuamoah listed these among the achievements of APRM, Ghana, at a programme held in Accra last Thursday to assess the impact of APRM on governance in member states, with Ghana as a case study.

Good practices

Mr Akuamoah, who was speaking on behalf of the National Chairman of the APRM, Most Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante, said Ghana had, over the years, shared its good practices with other member states of the AU and most international organisations, including the Namibian government delegation who were on a benchmarking visit on how to go about implementing the country’s National Plan of Action.

Good governance

The acting Director of the Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate at the APRM Continental Secretariat, Jean-Yves Adou, said APRM reflected the ultimate commitment of African leaders to the tenets of democracy and good governance, adding that good governance was not just a dream but was attainable because they had accomplished progress in many member states through their reviews. 

On why some member states had still not been peer-reviewed, the lead international consultant, Peter Kimemia, said some joined the APRM because of the ‘feel good factor’ and not because they wanted to follow through with the peer review. 

He said the secretariat was doing its best to reach out to member states who had not submitted themselves to be peer-reviewed.

SOURCE: GraphicOnline