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Sierra Leone operationalise African Peer Review Mechanism |
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Written by Francis Sowa
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Monday, 29 June 2009 |
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The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) should not be shrouded in secrecy.
It is an open assessment of the governance process, Dr. Osman Gbla, Chairman of the APRM National Governing Council in Sierra Leone has observed. He spoke at a Media Working Session on the APRM in Freetown. Explaining the link between the APRM and the media, Dr. Gbla said the APRM was about monitoring the performance of the State, while the media act as the critical agent of information dissemination. He pointed out that the APRM requires transparency, accountability, integrity, professionalism and technical competence. The APRM according to Dr. Gbla was beyond the parochial view of any political party. It is not an examination of any political party. He said Sierra Leone needed the APRM because it was a process of ensuring good governance. Mohamed Jalloh is the Interim Secretary at the APRM Secretariat. He said the Secretariat was in the process of producing information, education and communication materials on the APRM. Ibrahim Karim Sei, Veteran journalist and member of the APRM National Governing Council spoke about the ‘Role of the media and musical artistes in awareness raising campaign on the APRM.
He said the media should ensure that the APRM was ‘people led’ by providing information and getting feedback on their perception of the APRM. He said the media should monitor and constructively critique the process. At the end of the forum, the journalists committed themselves to reporting on the APRM through the strategies they developed.
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Brima Thomas Davies, CTN's Web Publisher / IT Manager.