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In a landmark move reaffirming Sierra Leone’s commitment to institutional reform and governance excellence, His Excellency Brigadier (Retired) Dr. Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, has issued an Executive Directive transferring the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) process from the Ministry of Political and Public Affairs (MPAPA) to the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MoPED).
The directive takes immediate effect and is seen as a strategic repositioning of the APRM within the government’s development and accountability architecture.
The Executive Directive guarantees the operational autonomy of the APRM National Secretariat, reaffirming its role as an independent technical and administrative body aligned with the Revised APRM Statute.
The Secretariat retains full authority over staffing, procurement, and program delivery. The National Governing Council, meanwhile, will maintain its role strictly as an advisory body—mirroring the structure of oversight institutions such as the Anti-Corruption Commission.
In a major diplomatic signal, the APRM Executive Secretary has been instructed to formally notify the APRM Continental Secretariat of this transition and introduce the Minister of Planning and Economic Development as Sierra Leone’s new APRM Focal Point.
President Bio also directed the immediate resumption and acceleration of Sierra Leone’s Second-Generation Country Review, a core component of its governance evaluation process.
To manage the transition, an inter-ministerial taskforce led by Dr. Emmanuel A.R. Gaima has been established, with a full handover to be completed within 30 days and a new integration framework submitted to Cabinet within 60 days.
This decisive action reflects President Bio’s “Big Five Game Changers” agenda and consolidates Sierra Leone’s leadership in the African Union’s continental governance mechanism.
