The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is a voluntary assessment compiled by the new Economic Partnership Development (Nepad), initiated by South African president Thabo Mbeki a few years ago. Countries in Africa can have themselves assessed according to the APRM guidelines. But Namibia has not done that yet and has no intention to do so for now, explained foreign minister Marco Hausiku. Speaking at a forum organised by the Hanns Seidel Stiftung last Friday, Hausiku said the APRM assessment cost N$ 600,000 and should not be viewed as a means to be ranked favourably for foreign investment, once assessed. According to a recent study undertaken by Nepru, Namibia has fulfilled most of the criteria for the APRM. These are democracy and good political governance, equal citizen rights, accountability and sound macro-economic policies among others.