East Africa gets action plan for Sub-Regional NEPAD Secretariat * By Ronnie Ojwang. research officer, NEPAD Kenya Secretariat Representatives from Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) attended a Sub-Regional Expert Group workshop in Mombasa, Kenya, on 28-29 April 2008 convened by the NEPAD Kenya Secretariat. The objective of the meeting was to define the procedures for establishing and running the NEPAD Eastern Africa Sub-Regional Secretariat. The meeting was led by consultant John Rocha, a senior project manager with the NEPAD Business Foundation in South Africa, who took the participants through the process of developing an action plan for the NEPAD Eastern Africa Coordinating Secretariat. At the end of the two-day workshop, a draft action plan was developed for the next three years and is currently being fine-tuned by the stakeholders who participated in the workshop. The Mombasa workshop had its origins back in 2003 when the Heads of State and Government Summit in Kampala, Uganda, laid down the need to establish a regional NEPAD coordination mechanism that would work in conjunction with the NEPAD Steering Committee and the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC). In view of the multiple memberships of countries in the Regional Economic Communities, the Heads of State recommended that as an interim measure Kenya be the regional coordinator of NEPAD activities in Eastern Africa. The NEPAD Kenya Secretariat was given the mandate to perform the following duties: Convening regular meetings of NEPAD Eastern Africa representatives to harmonise NEPAD programmes in Eastern African countries; Facilitating frequent sharing of information and experiences among the participating countries; Organising regional forums to bring together stakeholders around the various NEPAD themes; Coordinating activities with the NEPAD Secretariat in South Africa. Accelerating NEPAD flagship projects NEPAD Kenya, with support from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Eastern Africa Sub-Regional Office, hosted an experts meeting on 27-29 November 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya, bringing together representatives from NEPAD/APRM national focal points, national infrastructure specialists, Regional Economic Communities and key partners, UNECA and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The main objective of the Nairobi meeting was to provide an interactive forum for discussion and exchange of ideas on how to accelerate and fast-track the implementation of NEPAD flagship projects in the sub-region. The other specific objective was to look at the mechanism for renewing the mandate given to the NEPAD Kenya Secretariat to synchronise and coordinate the implementation of NEPAD programmes and projects in the Eastern Africa Sub-Region. The following key issues were discussed: Definition of a medium-term strategy for moving forward the NEPAD agenda in the Eastern Africa Region, Modalities for an appropriate and effective operational structure for the NEPAD Eastern Africa Office that would cater for the 15 countries in the region, Discussions of issues of resource mobilisation for both project implementation and effective operationalisation of the NEPAD Eastern Africa Coordinating Office. The experts group meeting also considered the various relationships and roles between national governments, RECs and the NEPAD Regional Coordinating Office, in adopting a number of crucial resolutions to mainstream the member states in the management and coordination of the NEPAD Eastern Africa Regional Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Sub-regional experts workshop in Mombasa Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda were the three countries given the assignment by the previous Nairobi meeting in 2006 to develop the background and requirements for the establishment of the NEPAD Eastern Africa Secretariat. The NEPAD Kenya Secretariat therefore convened a meeting of the representatives from these three countries, together with the Rwanda Ambassador to Kenya, and representatives from the Regional Economic Communities on 28-29 April 2008 in Mombasa. This meeting was scheduled to take place earlier, but due to the APRM Kenya Needs Assessment process and the post-election crisis that gripped Kenya, the meeting had to be postponed. Kenya APRM goes to the people for their input * By Ronnie Ojwang. research officer, NEPAD Kenya Secretariat The NEPAD Kenya Secretariat has carried out an African Peer Review Mechanism rapid diagnostic assessment ahead of its 2nd annual country progress report that is to be presented at the APR Forum during the 11th African Union Summit in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, on 24 June - 1 July 2008. Breaking from the tradition of holding country-wide provincial forums, the Kenya Secretariat used focus group discussions in various districts around the country. Forty participants were interviewed from each district with each group consisting of men and women of various age groups, including the elderly and young people. The aim was to draw divergent views on a range of issues. The participants came from various interest groups in society -- faith-based organisations, local opinion leaders, provincial administration, private sector, youth and women's groups and civil society. Discussions were centred on critical issues identified in the country review report of May 2006 and which were seen as needing urgent attention by the Government. Those issues included: Managing diversity in nation building; Implementation gaps; Poverty and wealth distribution; Land; Corruption; Constitutional reforms; Gender inequality; Youth unemployment; and Transformative leadership. In the process of undertaking the APRM rapid diagnostic assessment in the districts, the main aim was to create an approach where the people recommended measures which the Government could employ as possible and realistic interventions on these issues. The whole participatory approach in influencing the governance and public policy process was critical during the assessment.