23 Jan 2019

 Botswana has been invited to the accession ceremony  to the African Peer Review Mechanism Chief (APRM)to be held in Ethiopia next month.

  APRM executive officer Professor Edward Maloka  on January 22 presented the invitation letter to the Minister of Presidential Affairs, Governance and Public Administration Mr Nonofo Molefhi.

  Briefing the media, Minister Molefhi explained that the accession followed last year’s decision by Botswana to join APRM after the democracy and governance symposium as well as the regional anti-corruption conference. 

Saying it was appropriate to accede to the framework, Minister Molefhi said it meant being “part of the continental family where you allow others to give a view about us and assist in building and creating robust oversight institutions.” 

He said Botswana stood to benefit from the framework in terms of the experience of other countries. 

“Botswana can not forever believe that her institutions and policies are top notch. As a country she is inclined to listen to voices of others for direction so that she is able to reinvent the government,” he said.

He said it was important to continue reviewing governance in order to remain relevant to the global village.

For his part, Prof Maloka said Botswana joined at the right time as APRM was now a fully-fledged organ of the African Union.

“Botswana is setting a good example by acceding to APRM. Once a member, a country is expected to take on the leadership role,” said Prof Maloka. 

He noted that Botswana had the best experiences to share with others. The APRM accession ceremony will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during the AU summit  scheduled for February 9. 

The AU initiated APRM in 2002 and established it the following year under the framework of the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).ENDS