Ecowas The Gbeho period
A redirection of focus by the Ecowas Commission toward socio-cultural integration has started in earnest under the leadership of Ambassador Victor Gbeho (pictured below), reports Ejiro Barrett.
A
mbassador Victor Gbeho assumed office as president of the Ecowas Commission in February last year to complete Ghana’s term at
the helm of the organisation following the departure of the long-serving Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas. Ambassador Gbeho brings to his
job many years of experience as a senior career diplomat. He was Ghana’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York in 1980 and also served as foreign minister and adviser to two Ghanaian presidents. Under Ambassador Gbeho’s
watch, the activities of the Ecowas Commission are being repositioned and refocused in alignment with the vision of the Authority of Heads of State and Government to build an integrated structure. Te term, an “Ecowas of people”,
has become a catchphrase for the Commission’s new initiatives, designed to “create a borderless, peaceful, prosperous and cohesive region”. Te Commission is actively engaged
in all sectors that drive the socio- political engines of regional integration. Each of the focus areas enjoys the full support of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, which has endorsed the relevant protocols, conventions, recommendations, and decisions to promote cooperation and integration. Due to the impact of the global
financial crisis of recent years, growth in West Africa declined from 7.0% in 2008 to 4.4% in 2009. Te crisis was characterised by a fall in the prices of raw materials, decline in demand for Ecowas exports, a drop in foreign direct investment, and a decline in remittances and tourism receipts. But the Commission has continued
A key objective of the Ecowas
Commission is the implementation of the protocol on free movement of persons and goods within member states. Great strides have been made for the actualisation of this laudable objective with some remarkable results, although some bureaucratic impediments still exist which the Commission is sparing no efforts to eradicate. Another area of focus where
to drive towards attaining convergence of national economies through the implementation of the Ecowas single currency programme. Joint multilateral surveillance
missions have also been undertaken to facilitate the consolidation of macroeconomic scrutiny of member states, while the Commission is also engaged in negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with a single trade regime. Te formulation of a Regional Operational Plan as part of the EPA Development Programme (EPADP) is near conclusion. Te Commission is equally
intensifying efforts to finalise the Common External Tariff (CET). Also at an advanced stage is the implementation of a National Agricultural Investment Programme, which addresses issues contained in various international declarations made at conferences held in Maputo (Mozamibique), Paris (France), and Accra (Ghana). Fourteen of the Commission’s
15 member states have finalised and adopted the investment plans for the 2011-2015 period, whose objectives are in line with the UN Millennium Development Goals.
remarkable achievements have been recorded is in the development of the necessary infrastructure to boost economic growth. An important step in this regard is the programme enabling accessibility to renewable energy resources to foster regional economic and social development. Te West Africa region enjoys 20% access to modern energy sources, which is considered too low for comfort by the Commission. Only 16% of the region’s electricity
potential of 23,000 megawatts has been tapped, and this calls for an urgent coordinated response, which has already commenced with the signing of an agreement between Ecowas and the government of Cape Verde for the hosting of a renewable energy centre. Te Ecowas Centre for Renewable
Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) is envisioned as a specialised agency acting as an independent body to promote programmes for the development of renewable energy systems, and the acquisition of modern renewable energy technologies and methods of sustaining energy efficiency. Tis is part of the Ecowas
Commission’s continuing efforts towards improving the lives of the citizens of member countries.
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