By Kebba AF Touray
The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Rt. Hon. Memounatou Ibrahima has challenged his colleague parliamentarians in the Regional Parliament to speed up reforms to consolidate the principles of democracy as well as transform its operations to tackle the myriad of crises besetting the region.
Speaker Ibrahima said this while delivering the opening remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Third Extra-Ordinary Session and Second Parliamentary Seminar of the regional legislature in Lome, Togo on Tuesday, September 24. According to the Speaker, one of the main areas of focus for their session is budgetary provisions to finance efforts to address the problems within the sub-region.
“Our region is ravaged by floods, terrorism, violent extremism, and irregular migration, and these 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,” Speaker Ibrahima said.
She commended the President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe, for his ceaseless support for regional integration and women empowerment, and said her ascension as the first female speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament was a testament to the Togolese leader’s promotion of female competencies at all levels. She however lamented that in recent times, the sub-regional bloc has faced enormous economic and security challenges including issues of irregular migration of the youth away from the region, in search of better opportunities often at great risk to their lives across the deserts of North Africa and the deadly Mediterranean Sea.
The Speaker further said that the session will allow the regional parliament to consider and adopt the 2025-2027 budget to give it a clear-cut financial road map, to come out with “pragmatic measures” to address the challenges for peace, stability, solidarity, and progress of the West Africa region.
In his goodwill message to Members, the President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Dr. George Agyekum Donkor, said it is imperative to strengthen infrastructure and investment priorities in West Africa, to unlock the opportunities within the region, and to make the economies of member countries more competitive for the equitable distribution of economic opportunities to all citizens.
Represented by the Director at the Department of Research and Strategic Planning, MacDonald Saye Goanue, the EBID president, said the ECOWAS Parliament is a vital institution to facilitate dialogue, and to promote peace and stability towards achieving the objectives of the region. He pointed out the need for ECOWAS institutions to prioritize regional cooperation and boost investment to ensure the equitable distribution of the benefits.
“West Africa must ensure that the benefits of investment are equitably distributed among its citizens and together we can realize the vision of the bloc for its citizens,” he said.
On his part, the Togolese Minister for Human Rights, Citizenship Training and Relations with the Institutions of the Republic of Togo, Barrister Pacome Yawovi Missiame Amenyo Adjourouvi, lamented that the human rights situation in the region has been undermined by repressive governments which have suppressed freedom of speech and protests against harsh government policies. He said human rights protection will guarantee peace and greater opportunities for the citizens to thrive saying these play essential roles in the promotion and protection of human rights in West Africa. He said the implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and gender equality, will bring the regional bloc near to its cherished objectives.
Declaring the session open, the Speaker of the Togolese National Assembly, Sevon-Tepe Kodjo, said the region must intensify its developmental strides with budgetary provisions for a better community, adding the ‘ECOWAS vision 2050’ must consider social inclusion, economic integration, peace, stability, harmony and prosperity, as espoused by the President of Togo. 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 is also scheduled to hold a symposium tagged: “Empowering Women Through Financial Inclusion” to be organized by the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA) to unlock opportunities for women through financial services and to promote economic empowerment.
