Breman-Asikuma(C/R), Nov. 16, GNA - Dr Francis Appiah, the Executive Secretary of the National African Peer Review Mechanism-Governing Council (NAPRM-GC), on Wednesday cautioned Ghanaians not to politicise the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to derail its benefits. He said there are numerous benefits in the APRM for the nation as its primary purpose was to ensure the adoption of policies, standards and practices that would lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development and accelerated sub-regional and continental economic growth.

Dr Appiah, was speaking at a day's workshop on APRM for stakeholders in the Central Region' organized by the Council in collaboration with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) at Breman-Asikuma.

About 146 participants comprising civil servants and representatives from political parties, artisans, the district assembly, religious bodies, traditional authorities and market women attended it. It was aimed among others at disseminating the findings of the APRM country review report to stakeholders, outlining their role and responsibilities in the programme of action and eliciting their participation and support in the monitoring and evaluation. Dr Appiah underscored the importance of civil society and the media and stated that these institutions had historically facilitated governance by helping to resist oppressive rule and encouraging grassroots political participation. On socio-economic development, he stressed the need to persuade educated people from the region to return home after obtaining their professional qualifications and called for the evolvement of policies and incentive packages to attract such professionals to facilitate the region's development.

Professor S. K. B. Asante, a member of the NAPRM-GC, said the primary objective of the APRM could only be achieved through sharing experiences and reinforcing successful and best practices, including identifying deficiencies and assessing the needs of capacity building. He said Ghana has been a trailblazer and an example in the APRM process and that all over Africa and beyond the country s being commended for successfully undergoing the review. Mr Larry Bimi, chairman of the NCCE, in a speech read for him, stressed the need for the citizenry to be adequately informed and updated periodically about the APRM.

Mr Emmanuel Adjei-Doomson, the District Chief Executive, said chieftaincy disputes in major towns of the district like Brakwa and Odoben were militating against the socio-economic development and appealed for a lasting solution to the disputes.

He said the assembly was negotiating with Newmont Ghana Limited for the exploration of gold and diamond deposits at Ayipey and Kokoso. 16 Nov. 06