‘Peer pressure can be powerful’ - Interview: Amos Sawyer, African Peer Review Mechanism

In 2003 the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the continental development plan, initiated the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Since then 30 countries have joined the voluntary arrangement. Members have their governance practices reviewed through national consultations and discussions with APRM review panels and African heads of state. How well has this process been working, and what lies ahead? A member of the APRM’s Panel of Eminent Persons, Amos Sawyer — who was Liberia’s interim president in 1990–94 and currently chairs that country’s Governance Commission — spoke with Africa Renewal’s managing editor, Ernest Harsch. (For the full interview, see Africa Renewal online.)