Yonas Abiye
25 December 2008
Addis Abeba — The National African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Governing Council is to hold at least five stakeholders meeting to discuss and revise the national peer review report in less than a month's time in which it posed a fear on stakeholders' participation.
Organized by the National APRM Governerning Council, stakeholders of the council yesterday held a half-day consulting meeting led by its Chairman and Ministry of capacity Building Tefera Walwa at his office to share the agenda for the national forum and discuss on participating members.
Speaking on the occasion, Tefera revealed that the federal council has already prepares a 400 pages national report which was carried out by a high level of professional on four main reviewing sectors such as democracy and political management, economic management, corporate management and socio-economic development management. The report, according to the chairman was based on the continents standard with technical validation.
Tefera said stakeholders are expected to discuss thoroughly on the report and come up with their comments before the federal council submits it to the continental body that is the African Peer Review Council.
According to the minister, to meet the plan there will be five forums of which stakeholders will be able to deliberate on the four reviewing sector for four days and the fifth will address the outcomes of the four forums that summarize the aggregate out comes of the previous meetings.
Accordingly some 1500 members drawn from members of the stakeholders will participate with equal proportion of them.
The four stockholders are government, opposition parties, private sectors and various associations running in the nation.
During the consultation meeting, controversial issues and concerns were posed by the stakeholders and Tefera in turn tried to respond his views. Among others, deciding participating member from opposition parties and associations were the top agenda that were brought on the board.
At first, Tefera had tried to shift the right to the two stated stakeholders rather than the interference of the national council.
But participants opted the council it self to take the responsibility of deciding participants proportions.
"In a situation where there is no smooth environment where various opposition parties could gather together, it is so difficult to decide the proportional number of member of participants. So it should be given the responsibility for the council," Professor Beyene Petros, Chairman of United Ethiopian democratic front (UEDF) said.
One of the representatives of the associations has also claimed similar suggestion that it is difficult to decide where there are several associations with different work experience and characters.
"So far there is no central institution that commonly embraces the various associations, it would be better if the national government council takes the matter on its responsibility," a senior economic consultant with the prime minister office, Neway Gebre'ab suggested.
After a common consensus on the consultation meeting from all stakeholders, Tefera said the national council accepted it and said it will handle the matter.
It was also disclosed that upon the completion of the national forum and the revision, the report will be submitted to the federal government and so it to APRM.
The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is an instrument voluntarily acceded to by Member States of the African Union as an African self-monitoring mechanism. Its mandate is to ensure the policies and practices of participating states conform to the agreed political, economic and corporate governance values, codes and standards contained in the Declaration on Democracy, Political, Economic and Corporate Governance.
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