Thursday, December 13, 2007

Recommendations of APRM Self Assessment Report

The National Dialogue on the country Self Assessment Report of the African Peer review Mechanism has called for the scrapping of the office of the Auditor-General at all levels of government and in its place independent bodies be appointed to audit government accounts.
They also recommended that the least qualification for political office holders should be raised to tertiary institution qualifcation and that the constitution should provide for all elected and appointed public officers, at all levels, to resign three months before contesting any election.
Other recommendations include that sanctions should be visited on companies which failed to discharge their corporate social responsibilities, telecommunication industry be monitored to ensure tariff stability, effective and efficient delivery of service and regulatory institutions be strengthened for quality assurance etc.
Good recommendations but will this government or any other listen?

1 comment:

Juliana said...

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take
another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, "I
love you, but I know this other woman loves you and
would love to spend some time with you."

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was
my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the
demands of my work and my three children had made it
possible to visit her only occasionally.

That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner
and a movie.

"What's wrong, are you well," she asked?

My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a
late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of
bad news.

"I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some
time with you" I responded. "Just the two of us."

She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I
would like that very much."

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her
up I was a bit nervous.

When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too,
seemed to be nervous about our date.

She waited in the door with her coat on.

She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that
she had worn to celebrate her last wedding
anniversary.

She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an
angel's.


"I told my friends that I was going to go out with my
son, and they were impressed," she said, as she got
into the car." They can't wait to hear about our
meeting."

We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant,
was very nice and cozy.

My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.

After we sat down, I had to read the menu.

Her eyes could only read large print.

Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and
saw Mom sitting there staring at me.

A nostalgic smile was on her lips.

"It was I who used to have to read the menu when you
were small," she said.

"Then it's time that you relax and let me return the
favor," I responded.

During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation
nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent
events of each other's life.

We talked so much that we missed the movie.

As we arrived at her house later, she said, "I'll go
out with you again, but only if you let me invite
you."

I agreed.

"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got
home.

"Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined,"
I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart
attack.

It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance
to do anything
for her.

Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy
of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother
and I had dined.

An attached note said: "I paid this bill in advance.
I wasn't sure that I could be there; but nevertheless,
I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for
your wife. You will never know what that night meant
for me. I love you, son."

At that moment, I understood the importance of saying
in time: "I LOVE YOU" and to give our loved ones the
time that they deserve.

Nothing in life is more important than your family.

Give them the time they deserve, because these things
cannot be put off till "some other time."

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to
normal after you've had a baby .... somebody doesn't
know that once you're a mother,"normal" is history.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by
instinct .. somebody never took a three-year-old
shopping.

Somebody said being a mother is boring .. somebody
never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a
driver's permit.

Somebody said if you're a "good" mother, your child
will "turn out good"...somebody thinks a child comes
with directions and a guarantee.

Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their voices
....somebody never came out the back door just in
time to see her child hit a golf ball through the
neighbor's kitchen window.

Somebody said you don't need an education to be a
mother ..somebody never helped a fourth grader with
his math.

Somebody said you can't love the second child as much
as you love the first ... somebody doesn't have two
children.

Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to
her child-rearing questions in the books.... somebody
never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his
ears.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is
labor and delivery somebody never watched her "baby"
get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten .. or
on a plane headed for military "boot camp."

Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes
closed and one hand tied behind her back ...somebody
never organized seven giggling Brownies to sell
cookies.

Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her
child gets married....somebody doesn't know that
marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a
mother's heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last
child leaves home....somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you
don't need to tell her ... somebody isn't a mother.

Pass this along to all the "mothers" in your life, and
to everyone who ever had a mother.

This isn't just about being a mother, it's about
appreciating the people in your life while you have
them.... no matter who that person is