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Governors urged to embrace peer review for better governance

Tuesday, November 24th, 2020 00:00 | By
Nepad/APRM Director Elias Mbau.

Governors have been encouraged to embrace impartial county peer reviews on promotion of good governance and transformative leadership in their devolved units. 

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development Africa Peer Review Mechanism (Nepad/APRM) seeks to enhance proper governance, through self-assessment with a view to improving leadership. 

The programme is expected to kick off next year. 

Nepad/APRM Director Elias Mbau said the programme initiated by African Union (AU), aims to independently evaluate the counties based on standard parameters of development, placing them at the interest of investors. 

Mbau noted that the review also seeks to devolve good principles of governance as stipulated by the AU, saying it was a great chance for governors to have their counties reviewed impartially. 

Crucial lessons

“We beseech governors to agree to be peer-reviewed in a structured, objective manner that is impartial and does not reflect what other opinion polls show,” said Mbau at a Nakuru hotel during the dissemination of the peer review report. 

He noted that the same will be able to gauge which counties stand a chance for mega investment and also create a plan for those that are largely marginalised to catch up with the others in terms of development. 

He noted that the review will capture the 37 indicators of good governance which are all related to all the devolved functions, against which citizens will interrogate service delivery and performance by their respective counties. 

“We also want them to set in place procedures, mechanisms and structures that will ensure sustainability of their development programmes, which make a major contribution to economic benefits and growth,” he added. 

Through the APRM framework, using measurable indicators adopted by the 40 AU member states, peer learning is enhanced in areas of democracy and political governance, economic governance and management, corporate governance and socio-economic development. 

APRM and Governance Director Peter Kimemia cited slow pace in the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule, terrorism, high cost of the devolved governance system as major challenges hindering growth within the country. 

He said the ballooning wage bill, corruption, youth unemployment, poverty and inequality are also setbacks to development in devolved units.

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