JPM witnesses launch of AU facility named after Nyerere

President John Magufuli shares a light moment with his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame during the ongoing 28th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa yesterday. PHOTO | STATE HOUSE

What you need to know:

  • A press statement issued by Presidential Communications Director Gerson Msingwa said the facility has been named after Mwalimu Nyerere to recognise the statesman’s contribution towards fighting for Africa’s peace and security.

Dar es Salaam. President John Magufuli yesterday participated in a luncheon hosted by the chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, to proclaim a new peace and security facility named after Tanzania’s founding father and first President Julius Nyerere.

A press statement issued by Presidential Communications Director Gerson Msingwa said the facility has been named after Mwalimu Nyerere to recognise the statesman’s contribution towards fighting for Africa’s peace and security.

The facility is within the precinct of the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, where President Magufuli delivered a short speech moments after this important proclamation.

President Magufuli travelled to Addis Ababa for the 28th summit of the AU’s Heads of State, this being his first trip outside East Africa since he came to power in November, 2015.

In the morning, he attended a summit organised by the AU chairman and President of Chad, Idriss Deby. Heads of the AU member countries used the forum to meeting with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

According to the statement, the purpose of the meeting with the UN chief was to improve relations between the AU and the UN, particularly in the areas of peace and security.

The summit will be followed by a special conference of the heads of the AU member of countries, which is to be led by the AU chairman.

Meanwhile, Tanzania’s seasoned diplomat, Ambassador Ombeni Sefue has been appointed to join the Panel of Eminent Persons of the African Union’s African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) following his nomination by the government.

According to information confirmed by the executive secretary of the APRM Tanzania Secretariat, Ms Rehema Twalib, Mr Sefue and other new panelists were endorsed during the Forum of Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa on Saturday.

Other panelists include Prof Ibrahim Agboola Gambari (Nigeria), Amb Mona Omar Attia (Egypt), Fatma Zohra Karadia (Algeria), Bishop Don Dinis Salomão Sengulane (Mozambique) and Prof Augustin Loada (Burkina Faso).

APRM is a specialised agency of the AU, and was established in 2003 in the framework of the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad).

“APRM is a tool for sharing experiences, reinforcing best practices, identifying deficiencies, and assessing capacity-building needs to foster policies, standards and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, and sustainable development and accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration,” a statement in the APRM website reads.

The statement adds: “Member countries use the APRM to self–monitor all aspects of their governance and socio-economic development. African Union (AU) stakeholders participate in the self-assessment of all branches of government – executive, legislative and judicial – as well as the private sector, civil society and the media.

“The APRM Review Process gives member states a space for national dialogue on governance and socio-economic indicators and an opportunity to build consensus on the way forward.”

On the Panel of Eminent Persons, the APRM website cites it as a crucial oversight organ with a high level mandate to ensure credibility and performance of the Mechanism.