President John Dramani Mahama has expressed Ghana’s readiness to open up for a thorough peer review.
He described the mechanism as an important exercise that will afford Ghana the opportunity to assess the progress made and the interventions introduced to improve governance.
The President was speaking after swearing in members of the National African Peer Review Mechanism Governing Council (NAPRM-GC).
According to him, the new Council is expected to lead the second-generation review of Ghana next week on the sidelines of the African Union Summit scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“We are willing to do that and will be available to lead that process,” he assured.
President Mahama noted that Ghana was among the first countries to accede to, volunteer for, and undergo a comprehensive peer review process as far back as 2006.
“It has been a matter of pride for us that Ghana’s democracy, accountable governance, and everything we are noted for will be subjected to review by our peers.”
He observed that one key outcome of the earlier review was the identification of the wide development gap between the deprived northern belt of Ghana and the south, which eventually led to the establishment of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to provide direct development support and stem migration from north to south.
“So we want to know what has happened to those inequalities and the level of opportunities we have opened up in other parts of the country.”
The new Governing Council is chaired by Her Ladyship Professor Akua Kuenyehia.
In a brief remark, Professor Kuenyehia expressed gratitude to the President and assured him of the Council’s commitment to upholding transparency and the independence of governance institutions.
Other members are Dr. Joseph Whittal, Chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ); Mr. Joseph Obeng; Mr. David Ofosu-Dorte; and Mrs. Cornelia Amoah.
The APRM is a voluntary, mutually agreed self-monitoring instrument established in 2003 by the African Union (AU) to promote good governance, political stability, and sustainable development.
It facilitates national dialogue and self-assessment of policies across four key areas: democracy, economic management, corporate governance, and socio-economic development.
