·           Honorable Ministers,

·           Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

·           Members of the APRM Steering Committee,

·           Members of the APRM Panel of Eminent Persons,

·           Representatives of the African Union Commission;

·           APRM Strategic Partners;

·           Ladies and Gentlemen.

 

Good morning and a warm welcome to Kigali.

 

I would like to start by expressing the Government of Rwanda’s gratitude to the Management of the African Peer Review Mechanism – or APRM as it is known – for having chosen to host the 15th Anniversary Celebrations and the 2nd Methodology Forum of this Mechanism in Kigali.  I know that you have spent just a few days here, but I still hope you had time to wander through the city and enjoy the hospitality of your fellow Rwandans.

 

Dear brothers and sisters,

 

As we all know, implementing good governance principles is not simply about designing good institutional and policy reforms for our systems, but more importantly the capacity to assess and evaluate our performance for continuous improvement. When the New Partnership for Africa’s Development established the APRM in 2003 with precisely that goal in mind, it was the long-awaited opportunity we Africans had been waiting for, to readily commit to principles of good governance, among others: transparency and accountability in both the public and private sectors, rule of law, human rights or free and fair elections. We understood the importance of APRM as an African-owned self-monitoring mechanism, providing a platform for peer-learning and self-assessment among member states that had acceded the peer review mechanism.

 

15 years later, we are happy to learn that thirty-seven (37) AU member states have acceded to this voluntary mechanism since its establishment and twenty (20) member countries have completed their peer review process and are currently implementing their respective National Program of Action (NPAs).

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

In the case of Rwanda, we acceded to principles of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in 2003. We were among the first four countries alongside Kenya, Ghana and Mauritius to undergo peer review and achieve the Country Review Report. Joining APRM was a value addition step to enable our country to measure good governance not just only by our own domestic standards, but to benchmark against international standards inherent in the African Peer Review Mechanism.

 

And since then, we have institutionalized what we call the Rwandan Governance Score Card (RGS) published annually by the Rwanda Governance Board. This score card is an index meant to accurately gauge the country’s governance performance and development status. It identifies challenges and provides recommendations, generating credible and reliable data on governance issues for both national and international stakeholders, and contributing to policy and institutional reforms. And most importantly, it involves the participation of the population, whose surveys allows to capture their perspective on the progress made in a variety of governance-related areas.

 

Distinguished friends,

 

I do not want to take much of your time, but I wish to emphasize that good governance is truly a central factor for sustainable development. Implementing principles of good governance is not one a show event, it is a continuous process which need continuous assessments and evaluations for improvement. This is why African governments and institutions should put our hands together to support an African Peer Review Mechanism that continues to deliver on its mandate.  On the occasion of these 15th Anniversary Celebrations, I want to take the opportunity to urge all nations which have not acceded to the APRM community to resolutely do so.    

 

Lastly, I cannot end my words without emphasizing the need to revitalize the APRM and extend its mandate as envisioned by the AU Heads of State Summit. APRM should re-focus and widen its approach from the current narrow minded approach to capture local, home-grown and indigenous knowledge embedded in the African culture. This implies that apart from the traditional indicators of governance which tend to be likened to the rest of the world, APRM should also design methodologies to examine the role of African home grown governance initiatives embedded in our culture, and their role in promoting good governance and knowledge which to be shared with other countries.

 

APRM should reposition itself as an initiative that can play a monitoring and evaluation role for the African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030.

Ladies and gentlemen, let’s continue to feel empowered to become active participants in the political and economic transformation of our countries in particular, and the continent in general.

 

I thank you for your kind attention.