Président de la Commission de l’Union Africaine (depuis le 1er. février 2008)
Président du Ghana,
Président de l’Union Africaine (depuis janvier 2007)
This is stated in a Country Review Report presented to the November 2006 sitting of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) by the Executive Director of the Secretariat of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Dr Bernard Kouassi.
The report to PAP, which meets in Midrand, outside Johannesburg, South Africa, added : “Kenya’s current Constitution is a relic of colonial era which is yearning for review. The delay reflects the depth of political posturing in the country. For that, Kenya needs a transformative leadership.”
The report highlights endemic corruption, ethnic political parties, high cost of business, poverty, and imbalances in regional wealth as some of the challenges facing the Government.
“Decades of endemic corruption has perverted cultural values. Every Kenyan must take part in the fight against graft,” the report said.
Of the 57 African Union members, Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda are the only ones who have undergone full assessment under the African Peer Review Mechanism, where countries are voluntarily audited for their performance in democracy, human rights and delivery of basic human needs.
Call for urgent action on country’s laws
The Kenya review was conducted from November 3-18, 2005 by an 18-member team led Dr. Graca Machel. It interacted with different stakeholders in Nairobi and also toured all the country’s eight provinces.
Although the findings take note of the constitutional talks in Kenya and the October 21 referendum the APRM calls for urgent measures to speed up agreement on the country’s laws.
Kenya’s Parliament was reported to have weak oversight roles over the Executive, especially in budget matters, and the APRM recommended that the anomaly should be changed to infuse transparency in location and use of public resources.
Women, the APRM score-card noted, were poorly represented in Parliament and other high levels of decision-making, while the public was found to be lacking trust and confidence in public institutions.
The team reported that the high cost of doing business in Kenya was partly caused by poor and inadequate infrastructure. It referred to a World Bank report which stated that companies operating in the country lost 9 per cent of their investment yearly because of power outages. It was also reported that insecurity in Nairobi and the rest of Kenya was making potential investors shun the country.
And because of regional inequalities in development, the APRM findings declared :“ Kenya is not likely to meet the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.”
Government praised for programmes
A Kenya member of the Pan African Parliament, Wycliffe Oparanya agreed with the report, saying “it was a true and fair reflection of the reality in our country.”
Mr. Oparanya, who heads the PAP committee on finance, added : “It is true that most leaders of our political parties seek to overshadow other members. And corruption, regional imbalances in development, poverty and dithering over constitutional review are issues we are grappling with”.
He noted that the Kenya Government participated in the APRM survey and said it was now up to the Government to act on the recommendations of the survey.
However, the APRM score-card is not all gloom. It also pats Kenya on the back in areas where the Government has done well. This includes its peacekeeping roles in the region, devolution of funds through programmes such as the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), the sacking of 29 judges over corruption allegations, a free primary education programme, and expanded freedoms of speech and association.
The Government also earned praise for establishing a centre for corporate governance, and for its efforts against HIV/Aids.
Source : nepad news - november 24, 2006