Committee meeting

From: Patrick A. Firempong, GNA Special Correspondent, Kigali.

Kigali, Feb.14, GNA- President John Agyekum Kufuor Is among 18 Heads of State and Government expected to attend the 9th NEPAD Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC)Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda on Saturday.

President Kufuor, who arrived in Kigali on Thursday, also participated in the first African Peer Review(APR) Forum held on Friday.

Although Kigali is calm with people going about their daily activities in peace, both meetings were being held under very tight security at the Conference Hall of the newly built 108-roomed Intercontinental Hotel built within 13 months purposefully for the meetings. The HSGIC was established in terms of a declaration of the OAU Summit held in July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia and ratified by the first African Union(AU) Summit held in July 2002 in Durban, South Africa.

Initially, the HSGIC comprised of 15 member states, three Heads of State and Government from each of the five AU regions.

North Africa is represented by Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia, West Africa by Nigeria, Senegal and Mali, Central Africa by Cameroun, Gabon and Republic of Congo.

East Africa by Ethiopia, Mauritius and Rwanda, Southern Africa by South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique.

The AU Summit held in Durban, decided to expand the HSGIC by one representative per region to a total of 20.

As at the end of July 2003, three countries had been confirmed as new members, they were Ghana, Kenya and Libya, bringing the number to 18.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo is the Chairperson of HSGIC and the two Vice-Chairpersons are President A. Boutaflika of Algeria and President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal.

The Chairperson of the AU Commission and the Chairperson of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government are ex-officio members of the NEPAD HSGIC. The HSGIC provides leadership to the NEPAD process and sets policies and priorities and the programme of action.

It meets at least three times per year to review progress and take decisions on strategic issues. The HSGIC reports annually to the AU Summit. 14 FEB. 04