APRM, good governance recipe for poverty eradication and economic growth

Nakuru,

Tuesday December 5, 2023

KNA by Jane Ngugi

The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has advised County Governments to prioritize good governance and accountability to promote prudent resource utilization, enhance economic growth, and eradicate poverty.

APRM Country Director in charge of Governance Mr. Peter Kimemia said the devolved units must ensure transparency, inclusivity, public participation, accountability, and gender equality are achieved in their respective jurisdictions for the benefit of wananchi.

Mr Kimemia challenged the 47 County Governments to agree to be subjected to a mechanism through a tool devised by APRM to help Governors manage resources allocated by the national government prudently.

Speaking at the Rift Valley Regional Commissioner’s plenary hall in Nakuru during a presentation and public deliberation on the Kenya National Governance Report compiled by APRM in conjunction with the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Mr. Kimemia indicated that good governance was critical to forestall unnecessary and disruptive conflicts which can occur in African countries, owing to the ethnic diversity of the nation-states and the attendant multiplicity of competing interests.

He disclosed that they intended to cascade the APRM governance principles to all 47 counties and allow Governors to peer-review each other after having gone through an objective, participatory process.

  “The overarching objective is to improve service delivery performance linked to the local development plans that are co-created and implemented with the public throughout the annual country planning and budget cycles,” Kimemia said.

He noted that the peer review mechanism provides technological know-how to enhance citizen engagement, innovative thinking on resolving inclusion, transparency, and accountability challenges, and stringent timelines that push government and civil society actors to take action and report on their achievements faster.

Kenya was the first country in Africa to apply the methods used in the African Peer Review Mechanism to strengthen its devolved governance system.

According to Mr Kimemia, the mechanism has seen African Nations review each other on governance and economic policies leading to improvements in performance in all participating countries.

He said Kenya will continue subjecting itself to peer reviews and noted that the milestones mentioned in the APRM reviews include the promulgation of the constitution of Kenya in 2010 and the establishment of the devolved system of government (County Governments) which has progressively resolved issues of perceived marginalization.

Mr Kimemia observed that sustainable development hinges upon effective governance, as it plays a vital role in fostering equitable economic growth and overall progress.

He added, “The absence of objectivity and real data by external institutions which have been assessing governance on the African Continent has arguably been a major challenge in evaluating the state of governance for many African countries.”

 Mr Kimemia expressed regret that the lack of good governance has led to unnecessary conflicts in some parts of the continent, adding that to address these challenges, the African Union expanded the mandate of the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in 2017.

This expansion included monitoring and reporting on various aspects of governance, aligning with the African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

 “APRM released the inaugural continental governance report, Africa Governance Report 2019, in February 2019, encouraging member states to produce their national governance reports.

 These reports serve as a reflection of governance status based on national realities and innovations, providing a more objective assessment compared to external institutions that might lack real data,” explained Kimemia.

Mr Kimemia noted that Africa has the capacity and means to perform its assessment by utilizing locally generated data and information.

He indicated that Kenya’s adoption of a new constitution in August 2010 marked a significant milestone in improving governance. The constitution, Mr Kimemia added, developed through a citizen-centric and participatory process is recognized as one of the most progressive globally.

“It established independent governance institutions to address key challenges affecting social, economic, and political progress, such as land issues, gender equality, administrative justice, cohesion, integration, and corruption.

These institutions, alongside an independent judiciary and legislature at national and county levels, form the foundation of a stable democracy that allows for a focus on economic development and the enhancement of livelihoods,” Kimemia stated.

He affirmed that Kenya’s commitment to promoting national values and principles of good governance aligns with those of the African Union.

Mr Kimemia echoed the significance of the report and underscored the governance initiatives that led to the findings presented in the review report.

The African Union launched the initiative in 2017 when it decided to expand the mandate of the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to comprise monitoring and reporting on all key aspects of governance, including tracking implementation of the African Union Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The APRM developed the inaugural continental governance report, Africa Governance Report 2019, which was launched in February 2019. APRM then encouraged individual member states to produce their national governance reports, whose findings would be aggregated into a continental report.

The Director said national governance reports, serve as a national barometer of governance status in all AU Member States, based primarily on national realities, country innovation, and homegrown solutions, noting that the absence of objectivity and real data by external institutions, which have been assessing governance on the African Continent, has arguably been a major challenge in evaluating the state of governance for many African countries.

Mr. Kimemia highlighted that Africa has the capacity and means to perform her assessment by utilizing locally generated data and information, adding that Kenya is honored to have been selected to pilot the implementation of the NGR framework.

 “Kenya has consistently strived to improve internally, resulting in a plethora of best practices that can be replicated in other jurisdictions. The adoption of Kenya’s new Constitution in August 2010 is unquestionably a notable milestone and a watershed moment in this regard. This social contract, hailed as one of the most liberal in the world, was the product of a meticulous, citizen-centric, and participatory process,” he said.

 The Director elaborated that for each of the key governance challenges identified as impeding social-economic and political progress in Kenya, an independent governance institution was established to ensure objective treatment of any emerging issue that could otherwise be a source of conflict between the state, its citizens, and non-state actors, as well as among private citizens and entities.

Subsequently, the intervening constitutional commissions seek to address potentially divisive land questions, gender and equality concerns, administrative justice issues, cohesion and integration, and corruption.

He added that the institutions, coupled with an independent judiciary and legislature at the national and county levels, form critical pillars of a stable democracy, which allows focus on economic endeavors to improve livelihoods all around.

“For instance, in Kenya, President Dr. William Ruto has reiterated the government’s commitment to promoting national values and principles of good governance as outlined in Article 10 of the Kenyan Constitution. These governance principles are in tandem with those of the African Union,” said Mr Kimemia.

APRM is an initiative of the African Union in which member states voluntarily subject themselves to systematic assessment and review of governance at the head-of-state peer level.

The aim is to promote political stability, accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration, economic growth, and sustainable development.

 Mr. Kimemia said replicating the model in the country at the levels of county administration will ensure bureaucrats at the developed outposts comply with best practices in governing their charges and working in concert with peer counties.

Courtesy; KNA