Rwanda : Rwanda takes over APPN presidency from Côte d’Ivoire

Rwanda takes over APPN presidency from Côte d’Ivoire

Kigali, 07/03/24, at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the Executive Committee of the African Public Procurement Network (APPN) passed the baton from Côte d’Ivoire to Rwanda, which assumes the presidency of the Network this year 2024. Ms Joyeuse UWINGENEYE, Director General of the Rwanda Public Procurement Office (RPPA), replaces Ms Massanfi DIOMANDE BAMBA, President of the Côte d’Ivoire National Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (ANRMP), at the head of APPN. The ceremony was attended by Rwanda’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Uzziel Ndagijimana.

In his opening address, the Minister expressed his enthusiasm at taking part in the handover ceremony between Côte d’Ivoire and Rwanda, while congratulating the outgoing President, Mrs Massanfi DIOMANDE BAMBA, on the work accomplished during her term of office. In his view, strengthening public procurement structures contributes to transparency in procurement procedures, a factor in good governance. He also congratulated the incoming President, Mrs Joyeuse UWINGENEYE, and reiterated his Ministry’s support for APPN. He also reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the new President in the success of her mission. The meeting was attended by other members and technical partners via videoconference.

The choice of Rwanda was ratified at APPN’s third General Assembly, held from November 13 to 16, 2023 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, as Ms Massanfi DIOMANDE BAMBA explained. She also explained that the APPN Executive Committee was elected in Eswatini in 2022 and includes representatives from the sub-regional networks of West, East, South, North and Central Africa, maintaining its current composition. As the outgoing President pointed out, her recently-completed one-year term of office brought many benefits to the network, including the revitalization of activities that had taken a knock as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The financial balance sheet for the three years was also drawn

up, as well as the revision of the network’s statutes, the finalization of the internal regulations, and a large number of online sessions, through which many topics were covered, as she mentioned.

Mrs. Massanfi DIOMANDE BAMBA calls on the incoming APPN President to stay the course by enlisting the support of a solid national team that will enable her to successfully carry out the network’s activities, in particular the implementation of the action plan just adopted by the network’s Executive Committee during her 2-day mission in Kigali.

The handover marked by firm determination

Taking the floor, APPN’s new president, Joyeuse Uwingeneye, expressed her gratitude to the network’s members for the trust placed in Rwanda to hold the APPN presidency this year. She pointed out that Rwanda is the 3rd African country to hold the presidency of the network, after Eswatini and Cote d’Ivoire. As she indicated, Rwanda will continue to strengthen the sharing of experiences with other countries, especially in the field of electronic public procurement, which is currently recording significant successes. During her term of office, she will also focus on building the capacity of network members in the field of public procurement.

The President spoke about the 4th General Assembly of APPN, to be hosted by Rwanda in November 2024, and invited all stakeholders to work closely together to ensure its success. This mandate will focus on strengthening the network in order to raise its profile in the sub-region and on the international stage.

Following the handover ceremony, the Executive Committee held a meeting from March 7 to 8, allowing both face-to-face and online participation, during which the report of the Third General Assembly (TAG), which took place in November 2023 in Abidjan, was presented and validated. Several proposals from the Technical Secretariat, including approval of the 2024 business plan and adoption of the budget, were also examined and approved.

At the end of the discussions, the new President closed the debates and expressed her gratitude to everyone for their participation, while inviting them to collaborate in mobilizing the member countries of their sub-regions to ensure the viability of APPN in all its aspects.