By Kebba AF Touray
Amb. Olawale Awe, Head of ECOWAS’ National Office in Nigeria, said transparency and accountability are pivotal in improving the ECOWAS community’s financial processes and management.
He called on the ECOWAS parliament, the ECOWAS Commission, and the Administration and Finance Committee (AFC) of the sub-regional parliament, to work in synergy in order to achieve success in critical regional issues such as integration.
Amb. Awe, who is also the Chairperson of AFC, made these statements while presenting a paper at the meeting of the ECOWAS Parliament’s Joint Committee on administration, finance, budget, public accounts, macro-economic policy and economic research last Tuesday in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on the theme: “The Working Relationship between the ECOWAS parliament, the ECOWAS Commission, and the Administration and Finance Committee (AFC).’’ He said transparency and accountability together, can improve the Community’s financial processes and management. He underscored that it is fundamental that these three entities work with synergy to effectively coordinate and collaborate to achieve the successful implementation of the Community’s policies and program, adding that despite their distinct functions from other entities, they all play complementary roles in the financial management of the organization, and said there is an inter-play of their respective roles and responsibilities.
In terms of synergy, Amb Awe said matters relating to the Community’s economic and monetary integration policies including the Community’s budget should be a co-decision.
He challenged that such decisions should be jointly taken by the Council of Ministers and Parliament just as the relevant acts and regulations outline. He further noted that in some instances, the issue of overlapping mandates between the different arms can become a drawback due to ambiguity. This, he said, can culminate in lack of coordination, which in turn impedes the smooth implementation of ECOWAS’ policies and programs. He however said that in order to enhance and optimize the working relationship between the three, certain strategies should be deliberately adopted, and said this was because the AFC’s role in budgetary oversight had become a more collaborative venture.
“It is imperative that the AFC works more closely with both the Parliament’s Committee on Administration, Finance and Budget Control and the Commission. This will ensure that budget allocations are aligned with priorities of the Community,’’ he said; adding that through the seamless working relationship between the financial and administrative practices and processes, ECOWAS would support its regional integration and development vision.
