African Peer Review should be People Centred-Oulanyah

The Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, has urged the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to ensure its findings and recommendations work in favour of the development of the ordinary Ugandan.

The main thematic areas of APRM in Uganda include democracy and political governance, economic governance and management, corporate governance and sustainable socio-economic development.

Oulanyah said that as the 11th Parliament, they have decided to focus on the people, “the things you bring to us must have that angle. If they do not, we will send you back until you show us how the policy, law and budget you are proposing will impact on the life of the Ugandan in the village.”

The Speaker added that the mechanisms ought to assess whether government policies and laws facilitate private sector led growth, as well provide for an inclusive consultative process.

“Interest rates are the basis of the general concern about affordable credit. If our private sector had developed, we would have lesser issues to do with unemployment because there would be enterprises to close this gap,” Oulanyah noted.

Oulanyah made the remarks while officiating at the National Validation for the 2nd Assessment Report on implementation of Uganda African Peer Review Mechanism National Program of Action for the financial years 2019/2020 and 2020/21.

The report will be validated by President Yoweri Museveni and presented to the African Union Summit of the APR Forum of Heads of State in February 2022.

Amos Lugoloobi, the Finance State Minister for Planning and the focal person for APRM in Uganda, told the meeting that the country had spent Shs 28 trillion in implementing the various interventions presented in the National Programme of Action.

Lugoloobi added that a National Development Plan has been formulated, comprising programmes that will address issues within the plan of action, and that budgeting is going to be done according to the programme approach.

The APRM is Africa’s most innovative and ambitious initiative on governance, launched in 2003 by Member States of the African Union and agreed voluntarily, for self and peer-assessment of their national governance policies and practices.