President John Dramani Mahama has reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to transparency and accountable governance, declaring the country’s readiness to undergo a comprehensive peer review under the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).

The president made the remarks after swearing in members of the National African Peer Review Mechanism Governing Council (NAPRM-GC) at the Presidency in Accra.

He described the peer review process as a critical tool for assessing Ghana’s progress and identifying gaps in governance and development interventions.

According to President Mahama, the newly constituted council will lead Ghana’s second-generation review, which is scheduled to take place next week on the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“We’re willing to do that and we’ll be available to lead that process,” he assured.

The President noted that Ghana was among the first countries to accede to the APRM and voluntarily subjected itself to a comprehensive review as far back as 2006 — a move he said reflected the country’s confidence in its democratic credentials.

“It’s been an issue of pride for us that Ghana’s democracy, accountable governance, and everything that we are noted for, will be subjected to review by our peers,” he said.

He recalled that findings from the earlier review highlighted significant developmental disparities between the northern and southern parts of the country, which informed the creation of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) to address inequality and reduce migration pressures.

“So we want to know what has happened to those inequalities and what the level of opportunities we have opened up in other parts of the country are,” President Mahama added.

The newly sworn-in Governing Council is chaired by Professor Akua Kuenyehia.

Other members include Dr Joseph Whittal, Chairman of the National Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Joseph Obeng, Mr David Ofosu-Dorte, and Mrs Cornelia Amoah.

In her brief remarks, Professor Kuenyehia thanked the President for the confidence reposed in the council and pledged the team’s commitment to transparency and the independence of governance institutions.

The APRM is a voluntary self-monitoring mechanism established by the African Union in 2003 to promote good governance, political stability, and sustainable development across member states. The process facilitates national dialogue and self-assessment in four key areas: democracy and political governance, economic management, corporate governance, and socio-economic development.