In welcoming Ministers, Ambassadors and other distinguished guests to the gathering on 22 June 2007, Minister Obwocah said :

"This meeting comes at a time when there is ongoing dialogue aimed at taking stock of NEPAD’s achievements so far, as well as revisiting the mandate of NEPAD and charting the way forward.

Since its inception NEPAD has managed to elicit much goodwill and, most importantly, hope among Africans and indeed the global community. The Millennium Development Goals are at the very core of the NEPAD agenda and again it has been observed that most African countries are unlikely to meet the MDGs by 2015.

With this backdrop there is growing scepticism around our ability to deliver on NEPAD’s promise. If we don’t act now we risk eroding the public and international goodwill and confidence NEPAD enjoys.

We must be candid in identifying our achievements and challenges, as we discuss the effectiveness of strategies and the alignment of our NEPAD action plans in the globalised world.

That said, I have to reiterate what has been achieved in Kenya and in particular in the Eastern Africa Sub-Region as we have been mandated to be the interim Eastern Africa NEPAD Secretariat.

There have been successes and we need to build on these successes. Of the three countries that have so far completed the African Peer Review process two are from this sub-region. In addition about half of the countries that have made visible progress in the APRM are also from the sub region Kenya and Rwanda have completed the process and Mauritius, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia are at various stages of completion.

Of the pilot countries for the e-Schools project, four are from the sub-region — Uganda, Mauritius, Rwanda and Kenya. On infrastructure some of the identified priority projects are ongoing or completed.

The road ahead will not be easy and more than ever we must be prepared to stand together, work together and support each other. I wish you all fruitful deliberations. Source : NEPAD, june 29, 2007