Accra, July 1, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Sunday asked the continent's leaders to work to bring the good intentions of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the continent's development and economic blueprint, to bear on the lives of ordinary citizens.

This, he said, could be done through conscious efforts to integrate NEPAD principles and sectoral priorities into national development planning and processes.

"The development of a mechanism that would trace and monitor the degree to which each country has strived to implement NEPAD at national level is urgent," President Kufuor said at the opening of the 17th summit of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee of NEPAD at the ongoing Ninth AU summit in Accra.

The meeting is seeking to find innovative ways of implementing and realizing the noble goals of NEPAD and to build on the gains of decisions reached at Algiers, Algeria, last March. President Kufuor also called for the firming up of decisions and a timeline as well as benchmarks for integrating NEPAD into the structure and processes of the Africa Union.

He said given the grand debate on a continental union government, which is the sole Agenda of the Ninth Ordinary Session of the AU, the call for action on NEPAD was both compelling and highly significant. The President said since NEPAD's inception in 2001, the continent had articulated its vision and aspirations for a prosperous Africa to determine its priorities and how to achieve peaceful continent.

Besides, the NEPAD vision enabled Africa to determine its priorities and how to achieve them without let or hindrance and also enhanced the ability of African nations to build bridges to each other and form enduring and mutually beneficial partnerships among themselves and with partnerships among themselves and with partners from beyond.

"Therefore, working together within the framework of NEPAD, we have an unprecedented opportunity to make progress on our common goals of eradicating extreme poverty and achieving prosperity in Africa," President Kufuor said.