Business
Rivers Moves To Promulgate NEPAD Law
There are strong indications that the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) may soon become a legal agency if moves by the authorities in Rivers State sails through.
The hint was dropped by the Special Adviser on NEPAD to the Rivers State Governor, Dr Tex Wariboko at a one-day workshop on mainstreaming the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) in Port Harcourt.
Dr Wariboko disclosed that a proposal to transform the body into an agency has been put up and would be sent to the state executive council for further study.
Immediately that is done, he said the next step would be to send the bill to the Assembly, and therefore assured that by the first quarter of 2010, the bill may finally get the nod of the legislature.
Underscoring the importance of the bill, Chief Programme Officer of APRM, Mr Mohammed Yakub argued that once the document gets domesticated it would be easy to effectively implement it.
Mr Yakub commended NEPAD officials in the state over the zeal they have displayed in raising awareness on the document within government and private circles.
Meanwhile, SA on NEPAD in Rivers State, Dr Wariboko has disclosed plans by the body to conduct a baseline survey in the 23 local government areas of the state.
The survey Dr Wariboko further stated is aimed at assessing the level of implementation of APRM at the grassroots.
He explained that the agency has the mandate to drive development at the total areas, and therefore changed the local co-ordinators to be effective in their areas.
Dr Wariboko also called on the NGOs to liaise with the body in order to raise the campaign. In order to achieve this he divulged plan of holding a roundtable meeting with non-governmental bodies in the state.