President Uhuru Kenyatta elected vice chairperson of APR forum

President Uhuru Kenyatta has been endorsed as vice chairperson of the African Peer Review Forum of Heads of States and Governments. This is a new position in the Leadership of the forum and Kenya is the first country to serve in the position.

The current chairperson and president, Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, is understandably focusing on containing the Ebola crisis in her country, and had expressed the need for elections for the vice chair in line with the rules of the Forum.

To efficiently manage the oversight role of the forum, the forum resolved to elect the vice chairperson at the seating of the 22nd summit of the APR Forum of Heads of States and Government held on January 29, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

South Africa moved the proposal for Kenya's nomination. The proposal was supported by Sudan, Congo, Uganda, Benin and Malawi, and thereafter by unanimous acclamation of endorsement by all member states of the forum.

In accepting the nomination and election, President Uhuru, in a statement read on his behalf by Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru, assured the meeting that Kenya would use the opportunity to serve the people of Africa with diligence and commitment.

He further acknowledged the role South Africa has played in managing the restructuring of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), and commended Dr Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, chief executive of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad), for managing the transition.

The APRM is a cornerstone in Africa's efforts to realise good governance and remains an important framework that has continued to encourage and build transformative leadership through the sharing of information and experiences among African countries.