President Kikwete to attend APRM meet

Tanzania’s President Jakaya Kikwete

President Jakaya Kikwete will join other African Union Heads of State and Government to participate in the forthcoming African Peer Review Forum on 26 January, this year in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to be held on the sidelines of the AU Ordinary Summit.

During the forum, a gathering of heads of state and government participating in the governance assessment mechanism, Tanzania is scheduled to present its Country Review Report for peer review.

The president confirmed his participation in the forum when he met officials from APRM Tanzania at State House in Dar es Salaam on Thursday. “I thank you for a very good work done in coordinating the process in Tanzania.

Now, I’m more than confident of attending the peer review forum to present the views of my fellow Tanzanians,” said the president after meeting officials of the APRM Tanzania National Governing Council and its Secretariat.

Briefing the president on the process in Tanzania, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mr Bernard Membe, whose ministry coordinates the process in the country, said the review of Tanzania was an objective one.

“The report has highlighted the best practices we have in various areas of governance and challenges that we are facing which should be resolved,” said Minister Membe. The chairperson of the APRM Tanzania National Governing Council, Prof Hassa Mlawa, briefed the president that the presentation of the peer review of Tanzania will be preceded by that of Zambia. Prof Mlawa reaffirmed that the APRM process in Tanzania was conducted in an objective manner, including an external validation by external experts.