Stan Okenwa
9 February 2010
Lagos — African leaders meeting at the 14th African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa has approved the establishment of the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) as a technical body of the AU in replacement of the NEPAD Secretariat.
The NPCA is mandated to facilitate and coordinate the implementation of continental and regional priority programmes and projects and to mobilise resources and partners in support of their implementation.
In addition, the African Heads of State and Government in attendance at the AU Assembly have directed the NPCA to conduct and coordinate research and knowledge management, monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes and advocate on the AU and NEPAD vision, mission and core values.
According to specifications and terms of reference of the new body, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) should exercise supervisory authority over the NPCA, whilst giving the new Agency adequate and necessary flexibilities to carry out its mandate and thereby maintaining the corporate brand identity of the NEPAD Programme within the AU.
The leaders also directed that the NPCA activities be financed through an established budget from the statutory sources of the AUC, voluntary contributions from AU member states and additional budgetary support from development partners and the private sector.
NPCA now has a clear mandate "to facilitate and coordinate the implementation of continental and regional priority programmes and projects", according to the AU Assembly Decision No. AU/14 (XIV) of 1 February 2010.
The NPCA is also mandated "to mobilize resources and partners in support of their implementation", the decision stipulates.
Welcoming the AU decision, the CEO of the NPCA, Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, described the leaders' approval as a positive move, which is in line with the overall vision and mission of the African Union.
The Assembly also endorsed the integration of NEPAD into the structures and processes of the AU and authorized the Chairperson of the African Union Commission to exercise supervisory authority over the NPCA, "whilst giving the new agency adequate and necessary flexibilities to carry out its mandate and thereby maintaining the corporate brand identity of the NEPAD Programme within the African Union."
"This decision has strengthened NEPAD. We now have a clear and adequate mandate to focus more on project implementation in African countries," said Dr. Mayaki.
Dr. Mayaki called on the personnel of the former NEPAD Secretariat to redouble their efforts to live up to the expectations of the African leaders, who approved the transformation from the Secretariat into a full-fledged implementing Agency.
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