United Nations
Development Programme

Plot 24 Prince Charles Drive, Kololo

P.O Box 7184

Kampala, Uganda

Tel: (256) 414-233440/1/2/5

Fax: (256) 414-344801

Email: registry.ug@undp.org

Background

The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is an innovative instrument of the NEPAD voluntarily acceded to by member states of the African Union (AU) as a self-monitoring mechanism. Uganda is a signatory of this continent-wide convention to audit the governance institutions of a country. Performance and progress will be measured in four substantive areas of:

• Democracy and Political Governance
• Economic Governance and Management
• Corporate Governance
• Socio-economic Development

The APRM process is to help bring about critical changes within countries' public management systems. UNDP has taken the lead in supporting the government counterparts for the implementation of the APRM process in Uganda. A basket fund has been established with contributions from DFID and DANIDA for managing the three-year programme. Preparation of the Country Self Assessment Report is currently under way and the country is planned to be peer reviewed in early 2008.

Development objectives

The project aims to support the implementation of the APRM in Uganda as per the international standards applied equally across all the countries going through the process.

The APRM process is to set the tone for both internal and external audits of the institutions and systems in the various areas of governance (democratic, political, economic, socio-economic and corporate) and to identify deficiencies and develop a national Plan of Action that will ultimately lead to improved governance for sustainable human development.

Key activities

• conduct APRM technical assessment in a participatory manner, involving all key stakeholders, in line with the overall APRM principles
• develop a National Programme of Action for the implementation of APRM recommendations
• establish and strengthen National Institutional Framework for implementing the APRM process – namely support to the APRM National Commission to effectively provide leadership to the APRM process
• establish and operationalise APRM Resource Centre
• provide support to External Assessment of the Country Self-Assessment Report and the POA carried by the Country Review Team
• implement the Communication and Advocacy Strategy for APRM/NEPAD Uganda programme and communicate the APRM activities to all stakeholders including: Parliament; civil society organizations; Government; the private sector; and special interest groups, including women’s organizations, youth and persons with disabilities, among others

Expected results

The main results of the project will be:

• effective implementation of the African Peer Review Mechanism in the country
• development of a national Plan of Action highlighting the key governance challenges and solutions
• full integration of the Plan of Action into the national development frameworks of the country

Implementation phase

The project is currently in the preparation of the country report phase.