South Africa’s Cyril Rampahosa assumes Chair of African Peer Review Mechanism

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has assumed the position of Chair of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) - the African Union’s self-assessment and monitoring agency.

President Ramaphosa took up the role on Saturday 8th February and will serve for a term of two years until 2022. 

Established in 2003, the APRM is a specialised agency of the African Union (AU) which encourages conformity with regards to political, economic and corporate governance standards. 

The Agency also oversees the monitoring of Africa’s commitment to socio-economic development objectives, with a recent mandate to cover the AU’s 2063 Agenda and UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. 

Membership of the organisation is voluntary and so far 37 nations have signed up.

The APRM’s 29th session was held on Sunday and introduced new targeted reviews on matters such as youth unemployment in Namibia, fiscal decentralisation in Djibouti, and the impact of tourism on Zambia’s economy. 

President Ramphosa has said the APRM’s reports are vital to achieving development goals on the African continent and has encouraged countries that have undergone review to act on the agency’s recommendations. 

The president also thanked his recent predecessors - President Derby of Chad and President Kenyatta of Kenya - for their hard work in steering the APRM to greater levels of effectiveness. 

Photo: GCIS/Flickr