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By Godfrey Olukya
Botswana is to soon host the eighth African Governance Forum which is to be attended by officials from all African states.
The theme at this year’s meeting is ‘Democracy, Elections and the Management of Diversity’ It will be officially opened in Gaborone, Botswana on Tuesday
sixteenth October, 2012.
It is organized jointly by Government of Botswana, the African Union, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
‘We are expecting about 300 stakeholders to attend the forum.’ said Gideon Ekulu, a member on the organizing committee. ‘There is a lot to discuss, like the current state of democracy in Africa, human rights issues and state of education.’ he added.
The forum will also outline challenges with particular reference to gender imbalances, marginalization and disempowerment of youth with a view to
illustrating how these problems retard progress towards the nurturing and consolidation of participatory democracy on the continent.
The organizers say that the forum will go beyond highlighting challenges by showcasing governance best practices in Africa. While encouraging African leaders and citizens to deepen best practices, the Forum will also proffer possible policy options for addressing the governance deficits on the continent especially as they relate to elections and diversity management.
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