Africa
By Kennedy Nnamani
THE Economic Community of West African States, ECOWS, held its sixty-first ordinary session of Heads of States and Government to discuss common issues facing the region.
The Summit was held on July 3, 2022 in Accra, the capital of the Republic of Ghana and chaired by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana, and Chair of the Authority.
During the Summit, the Heads of State or their representatives deliberated and considered common issues affecting the countries in the region.
Issues relating to peace, security, democracy and others in the West African states were considered.
The Authority reaffirmed its commitment to promoting peace, security, and stability in the region, which it said “are prerequisites for the economic integration and development of the region.”
They recalled Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea Niger, Nigeria, Benin and Togo which are experiencing political and security instability and commended the efforts of various mediators to these countries, including Goodluck Jonathan, ECOWAS Mediator for Mali and former President of Nigeria; Mahamadou Issoufou, ECOWAS Mediator for Burkina Faso and former President of the Republic of Niger.
It also took note of the report on the political situation in Guinea presented by Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ghana and Chairman of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers.
On economy, the Heads of State and Government applauded the economic growth of the community with real GDP of 4.8% in 2022 as against 4.2% made the previous year even as the Russian-Ukrainian crisis negatively affects the economies of the region, particularly on the cost of living.
In this regard, the Authority urged Member States to intensify the mobilization of financial resources to support efforts for the structural transformation of national economies, job creation and reduction of external dependence.
While reacting to the issues affecting the implementation of the single currency, the Authority commended the efforts of the committee in charge of the project, charging them to work to achieve consensus on all outstanding issues for a speedy smooth transition to ECO.
It also adopted the additional Act on the legal framework of the ECOWAS payments and settlement System, EPSS.
Other issues considered by the assembly included issues on food crisis and mitigation measure to build food system resilience in the community, on human capital development, on implementation of other regional integration programmes concerning infrastructure development, education, science, intra-community trade, climate change and culture, on supplementary Act on the classification of subject and decision-making and on institutional matters.
The Heads of State and Government are to meet again in Abuja, Nigeria for their next Ordinary Session at a date yet to be made known.
KN
Tags: ECOWS Goodluck Jonathan Kennedy Nnamani Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
