Matters of Governance and the post 2015 Development Agenda shall come into scrutiny mid- this week at a high-level African Thematic Consultation taking place in Midrand – Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Consultation organised by the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) takes place on February 26-27, 2013. Prof Amos Sawyer, the Chair of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and former President of Liberia, is expected to open the two-day Consultation ,according to a release from EALA Press office
In attendance are key African leaders and eminent personalities. Among the leaders are former Presidents, H.E. Festus Mogae of Botswana, H.E. Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Ghana’s Jerry John Rawlings and H.E. Joachim Chissano of Mozambique.
Others are Republic of Mozambique’s Prime Minister, Rt. Hon Alberto Vaquina and his counterpart from the Kingdom of Lesotho, Rt. Hon Motsoahe Thomas Thabane. The Secretaries General of the SADC, COMESA and the President of the Pan-African Lawyers Union (PALU) are also expected to be in attendance.
High ranking government officials from the EAC Partner States and the continent have also been invited. The aim of the meeting is to bring together the African experience on governance so that this may inform the new global development agenda.
Various related topics shall be discussed. The topics shall delve into the state of democratic governance as envisaged by the African Union, roles of various stakeholders including Parliamentarians, academia and civil society in the development agenda and financing sustainable development – post 2015.
The EALA Speaker, Rt. Hon (Dr) Margaret Nantongo Zziwa shall be on a panel sharing reflections on the role of Parliamentarians, Media and Civil Society in enhancing participation by citizens in democratic governance processes.
EALA Speaker Nantongo Ziwa
The consultation takes place two years before the period set for the globe to have realized the UN backed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) expires.
Resulting from a series of UN Summits in the 1990s, MDGs were identified as key in global co-operation for development. Since these international goals and associated landscapes were set in 2000, the development landscape of the world has shifted. Analysts note that any new development agenda must reflect on the new trends while building on the positive achievements of the MDGs.
The meeting is to be preceded by a (pre-event) thematic meeting on governance which shall elicit views from a broad range of African stakeholders such as Parliamentarians, media, civil society, community based groups, faith based organisations, intellectuals, youth and the women groups.
By UP
