Kunda urges transparent peer review
By Maluba Jere
Wednesday September 10, 2008 [04:00]
JUSTICE minister George Kunda has implored members of the National Governing Council (NGC) to ensure the integrity of the peer review process by keeping it transparent, inclusive and accountable.
During the inaugural ceremony of the NGC at Pamodzi Hotel on Monday evening, Kunda said it was important for the development of the nation to be measured through the thematic areas of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) namely democracy and good political governance, economic governance and management, corporate governance and social economic development which he said should guide the work of the NGC.
"The role of the NGC will be an important one at the national level since the NGC will be expected to provide oversight and leadership in the implementation of the APRM in consultation with government and especially through structures and committees that government has established for the purposes of implementing the APRM," he said.
Kunda urged the members to dedicate themselves to the uniqueness of the APRM, adding that they needed to observe targets and timeliness.
He said members needed to take ownership and collective responsibility of the APRM.
"Allow me therefore that I provide counsel to the chairperson and the other members. My counsel is simple and to the point. Firstly it requires that the NGC should work in close collaboration with all stakeholders including government as provided by the terms of reference," he said. "These terms should be used as personal guides by all members since they have been formulated to ensure a credible national APRM process."
Kunda also said the NGC was representative of a consultative process that was undertaken by the government and that it epitomised the essence of the APRM and urged the members to pay attention to the primary purpose of the APRM.
"This process requires to a country to foster the adoption of policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration," Kunda said.
And NGC chairperson Akashambatwa Mbikusita Lewanika pledged the council's commitment to ensure it represented the whole nation.
Aka, who expressed gratitude for his appointment, said the council would be efficient but economical with the resources.
"By accepting to be on the national council we will be one collective body and represent Zambia above all else," said Aka. "Even before we started, we've been cautioned about the size and possibility of wastage of resources but I would like to pledge that despite what may seem to be large numbers, we shall endeavour to give value, endeavour to represent the whole nation and work as Zambians and nothing else."
Labels: GEORGE KUNDA, NGC
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Kunda names APRM implementation group
By Noel Sichalwe
Monday August 11, 2008 [04:00]
JUSTICE minister George Kunda yesterday announced that 47 people will sit on the National Governing Council (NGC) to oversee the implementation of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). And Kunda appealed to the nation to give President Levy Mwanawasa time to recover instead of urging the government to invoke the constitutional provisions with regard to succession.
Addressing the press at his office yesterday, Kunda said the NGC would spearhead and oversee the implementation of the APRM
He said the APRM would be guided by the guidelines prescribed by the African Union (AU).
Kunda said Zambia set up the NGC, which was approved by Cabinet on July 24, 2008.
He said the NGC was broad based and drawn from government, the civil society, Parliament, the Judiciary, professional bodies and other stakeholders.
The NGC would be chaired by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) chairperson Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika and the vice-chairperson Tamala Kambikambi from Zambia National Women's Lobby Group.
Kunda said members of the NGC would serve on conditions similar to those of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) and would be required to subscribe to the code of conduct.
He said the APRM would evaluate the entire governance spectrum and come up with a national programme of action on governance and country assessment report.
He said the report would showcase the achievements, strengths, weaknesses and other challenges in implementing governance standards.
Kunda said the APRM would be an opportunity for stakeholders to participate in the governance processes of the country and not a platform for finger pointing or apportioning of blame on government officials.
"The APRM is aimed at evaluating the nation and how it is fairing in terms of governance. All of us as citizens, public officers and civil society and private sector representatives will need to participate fully in the APRM process so as to ensure a balanced outcome," he said. "The outcome should be credible if it is to be used as a reference point for our governance and developmental programmes. I therefore challenge those who will make contributions to the discussions on the APRM to be constructive and do so in a spirit of patriotism as we endeavour to develop our beloved country."
He said the Ministry of Justice would like to work closely with the civil society and other stakeholders to succeed with the APRM.
He appealed to stakeholders against engaging in negative politics and controversy during the process.
Kunda said other countries that had been peer-reviewed such as Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, Benin and Kenya had benefited from the process.
He said at the last African union (AU) meeting in Sharm El Sheik in Egypt, Uganda, Nigeria and Burkina Faso were due to be peer-reviewed.
"We should join the long list of countries that are being peer-reviewed and through this process share best practices and experiences which will be beneficial to our beloved country," he said.
Kunda said the NGC would be at liberty to constitute committees and retain consultants and experts to fuse them within the structures of APRM.
He said he would soon start sending letters of appointment to all NGC members spelling out the terms under which they would serve.
He said the NCG would determine the timeframe but that the maximum should be one year.
Zambia acceded to the APRM on January 22, 2006 and subsequently Cabinet approved the implementation of the APRM in June 2007.
APRM is a voluntary mechanism which addresses governance issues like democracy and political governance, economic governance, corporate governance and socio-economic governance.
And commenting on various assertions that the government should invoke the constitutional clauses that provide for the succession of the President in case of illness, Kunda said Zambia still had a government in place which was functioning according to the constitutional provisions.
"We have an effective government," he said. "Our President is going to recover and we are confident and we should give him time to recover."
Kunda thanked Zambians who were praying for the quick recovery of President Mwanawasa.
Labels: APRM, GEORGE KUNDA, NGC
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