Peer-review system adopted for Africa

KIGALI - African leaders ended their summit having adopted a unique peer review system aimed at allowing countries on the continent to judge the behaviour of fellow African states.

"The most important point is that we can now start evaluation," Mozambican President Joachim Chissano said at the end of the two-day summit in the Rwandan capital.

Heads of state have agreed to a set of criteria defining the term "good governance" in the African context, a crucial intital step if the peer system is to work.

In all, nine African heads of state and government have adopted the Peer Review Mechanism (PRM), and evaluations will apply to 16 participating countries.

Their achievements and shortcomings with regard to good governance and human rights will henceforth be assessed by the others.

The PRM is one of the pillars of NEPAD, an ambitious recovery plan drawn up by the African Union three years ago.

Together with Kenya, Ghana and the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, Rwanda will this year be among the first states to submit to assessment by the dozen other subscribers to the PRM and its code of conduct.

On Friday Wiseman Nkuhlu, chairman of the NEPAD steering committee, said that it was critical that participants in PRM adopted the criteria submitted to them so that the process of evaluation could begin in coming weeks.

Meanwhile Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo announced that Angola had decided to join NEPAD, which will bring the total membership to 17.

Critics of PRM regret the lack of provisions for punitive sanctions for those who fall short of good governance benchmarks or who fail to comply with recommendations made by the PRM measures.

AFP