The Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Parliament), Rt. Hon. Memounatou Ibrahima, has called for speedy reforms at the West African regional bloc to transform its operations in order to tackle the numerous crises that plague the region.
The Speaker said this in her address at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Third Extra-Ordinary Session and Second Parliamentary Seminar of the regional legislature on Tuesday in Lome, Togo, stressing that one of the main areas of focus for the session was budgetary provisions to finance efforts to address the problems within the sub-region.
Hon. Ibrahima said: “our region is ravaged by floods, terrorism, violent extremism and irregular migration that have affected thousands of our citizens. ECOWAS of 50 years must speed up reforms to consolidate the principles of democracy and good governance to drive the vision of the founding fathers.”
The Speaker commended the President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe, for his ceaseless support for regional integration and women empowerment. She noted that her ascension as the first female speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament was a testament to the Togolese leader’s promotion of female competences at all levels.
ECOWAS will mark its 50th anniversary in 2025 as a bloc formed on May 28, 1975, in Lagos Nigeria to promote economic cooperation among member states in order to raise living standards and promote economic development. ECOWAS has also worked to address some security issues by developing a peacekeeping force for conflicts in the region.
But, in recent times the sub regional bloc has faced enormous economic and security challenges including the vexed issue of the irregular migration of its youth away from the region in search of better opportunities often at great risks to their lives across the deserts of North Africa and the deadly Mediterranean Sea.
The Speaker said further that the session will afford the regional legislature the opportunity to consider and adopt its budget of 2025-2027 to give it a clear- cut financial roadmap to come out with “pragmatic measures” to address these challenges for the peace, stability, solidarity and progress of West Africa.
The session will also examine the level of implementation of the Parliament’s 2023 budget as well as the mid-term budget for the 2024 financial year to ensure that it aligns with the region’s development goals.
The regional parliament will then hold a symposium tagged “Empowering Women through Financial Inclusion”, that will be organized by the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA) to unlock opportunities for women through financial services and promote economic empowerment.
In his goodwill message, the President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Dr. George Agyekum Donkor, said it was imperative to strengthen infrastructure and investment priorities in West Africa to unlock the opportunities in the region and make the economies of member countries more competitive even as he called for equitable distribution of economic opportunities for all citizens.
Represented by the Director, Department of Research and Strategic Planning, MacDonald Saye Goanue, the EBID president said the ECOWAS Parliament is a vital institution to facilitate dialogue, promote peace and stability towards achieving the objectives of the region. He pointed out the need for ECOWAS institutions to prioritize regional cooperation to boost investments and ensure equitable distribution of the benefits.
He said “West Africa must ensure that the benefits of investments are equitably distributed among its citizens and together we can realize the vision of the bloc for its citizens.”
The Togolese Minister of Human Rights, Citizenship Training and Relations with the Institutions of the Republic of Togo, Barrister Pacome Yawovi Missiame Amenyo Adjourouvi, decried the human rights situation in the region. He said human rights have been undermined by repressive governments which have suppressed freedom of speech and protests against harsh government policies.
He noted that human rights protection will guarantee peace and greater opportunities for the citizens to thrive saying “we must play an essential role to promote and protect human rights in West Africa”. He said further that the implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right and gender equality will bring the regional bloc near to its cherished objectives.
The Speaker of the Togolese National Assembly, Sevon-Tepe Kodjo Adedze, who declared the session open on Tuesday in Lome, said the region must intensify its developmental strides with “budgetary provisions for a better Community,” stressing that the ‘ECOWAS vision 2050’ must consider social inclusion, economic integration, peace, stability , harmony and prosperity as espoused by the President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe.
