• +233 20 230 9497

Month: December 2022

ECOWAS budgets not for development within sub-region—Ayariga

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs

A member of Ghana’s delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament Mahama Ayariga has said the sub-regional bloc’s budget is not for development within the member states.

According to him a significant chuck of the budget is going into paying of salaries and administrative programmes as the sub-regional institution is to coordinate and ensure that the various countries play their roles.

And the right rules and systems are put in place to enhance free movement of goods, services and persons and it’s not ECOWAS itself that has to deliver on infrastructure that would enhance free movement.

“ECOWAS is not to construct roads that would link countries and border posts; they are not to ensure security in member states so that other nationals can pass through, but the duty of member state government. That is why you will not see huge budgetary allocation for specific development, rather ECOWAS coordinates”, he said in an interview.

And pointed out that, it is the reason the 2023 budget adopted by the Community Parliament on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, there is nothing different about the budget.

Mr. Mahama Ayariga was of the view that ECOWAS as a sub-regional bloc needs to step up, if blocs like the EU is doing and they want to take on more space in the nation states. They need to rake in more resources for ECOWAS as a body.
“If we want ECOWAS to play a greater role in ensuring security in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in Northern Nigeria and others, they must have the capacity and it means that we need to find means of increasing the resources that are available”.

He thinks the levy currently being paid is inadequate despite that the various countries are not making full disclosure in terms of what they are collecting as levies. If you go and look at Nigeria as a country on that subject matter, I am sure Nigeria as a country is to declare exactly how much they are collecting and transmitting to ECOWAS.

And it will be significant, as we have smaller countries that they cannot complain if they do not remit small amounts. “But if big economies like Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Ivory Coast, if they are fully accountable for the levies that they collect, I am sure the organisation will be significantly resourced”, he stated.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

ECOWAS Parliament Adopts Commission’s UA418,072,408 Budget for 2023

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs

The ECOWAS Parliament at its plenary on Wednesday, November 30, 2022 during the ongoing 2022 Second Ordinary Session of the Parliament holding in Abuja from 24 Nov – December 18, 2022, adopted the report and recommendations for the ECOWAS Commission’s consolidated budget of UA418, 072,408 for 2023.

Presided by the Honourable Speaker, Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis, the Parliament also mandated the Speaker to convey the favourable opinion on the ECOWAS Commission’s Adhoc Committee report and recommendation to the Chairman of the Council of the Heads of State for consideration.

It would be recalled that the Administration and Finance Committee (AFC) of the ECOWAS Commission has earlier presented for the Parliament’s consideration a draft budget of Four Hundred and Twenty-Seven Million Unit of Account (UA 427,979,594) for 2023.

The Chairperson of the AFC, Cristina Pedreira who made the Presentation before Members of the Parliament’, said that the Committee came up with the draft budget and recommendations sequel to the 32nd Meeting of the AFC which held from November 14 – 21, 2022.

Meanwhile, the AFC report indicated a general appeal to member states to comply with the provisions of the ECOWAS Community Levy protocol to avoid imposition of the stipulated sanctions.
This elicited contributions at plenary by Parliamentarians who decried the lukewarm attitude of some member states with regard to non-payment by certain member states of community levies.

These taxes, it should be remembered, constitute between 70 and 90% of the Community budget and are levied by each Member State through a mechanism known as the “community levy” which is at a rate of 0. 5% imposed on goods from non-ECOWAS member states.

The parliamentarians denounced the attitude of certain countries which have not made any repayments since the beginning of this year 2022. They rose up against this state of affairs, considering that the States up to date with their contributions cannot, out of simple convenience, continue to pay instead of others.

Parliamentarians were surprised that Member States such as Burkina-Faso and Guinea are up to date with their dues while these countries are experiencing a military-political crisis that is disrupting their economies. On the other hand, they argue, countries that enjoy political and institutional stability are unable to honor their commitments to the community by paying back the community taxes that have been levied.

The parliamentarians then demanded that parliament deal with this situation urgently so that it does not happen again next year.

On this issue, Cape Verdean parliamentarians called on the parliament to use the mechanisms at its disposal to find a way out of this worrying situation.

Ghanamps.com

Eastern Region to host 2022 38th edition of national farmers’ day

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs

Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto has told Parliament the Eastern Region will host the National Farmers Day celebration on the theme, “Accelerating Agricultural Development Through Value Addition”.
According to him pursuant to Public Holidays Act, 2001 (Act 601), this year’s National Farmers’ Day, the 38th edition, falls on Friday, 2nd December, 2022.

In a statement on the floor of the House he noted that, preparations are feverishly underway to ensure a memorable and successful occasion the choice of the Eastern Region was based on a long-standing rotational principle for determining the venue of National Farmers’ Day celebrations in the country.

The theme aligns with government’s vision of modernizing and transforming agriculture, relevant objectives of the President’s Coordinated Programme of Socio-economic Development Policies, and the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goals one(1) and two (2) which advocate the eradication of extreme Poverty in all forms and Zero Hunger respectively.

Mr. Speaker, the strategic intervention and the success of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFI) campaign, speaks clearly to government’s relentless efforts of systematically addressing the long- standing problems of Ghana’s agriculture, he said.

The Horticultural sub-sector now has three new Greenhouse centres located at Dawhenya, Bodwiase and Akomadan in the Greater Accra, Central and Ashanti Regions respectively.

Others include the construction and rehabilitation of major irrigation schemes, feeder roads and 80(1000mt tons capacity) warehouses constructed throughout the country.

Dr. Owusu Afriyie told the House in 2019 the agriculture sector grew by 4.7% followed by 7.4% in 2020 and a record 8.4% in 2021. With the excellent rains this year we expect the substantial growth performance of recent years to be repeated this year 2022.

Whiles, the strongest growth in recent years have increased the share of agriculture sector in Ghana’s GDP from 18% in 2016 to 22% by 2021. These impressive results were posted by the sector against all odds, when multiple external shocks and unfavourable external global conditions had impacted virtually every economy including Ghana.

Supply chains had been badly disrupted resulting in acute shortage in critical inputs like fertilizers, the Animal sector which had been badly hit by diseases such as swine flu and the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, while farmlands were also being destroyed by galamsey activities, he stated.

“Mr. Speaker, we in government recognize that the impressive performance of the agricultural sector is largely due to sacrifices and the tireless efforts of our heroic farmers. As a people, the least we can do therefore is to continue to celebrate and reward our farmers with rising farm productivity and incomes”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

Mahama Ayariga advocates for shadow country report from ECOWAS country reps

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs

Member states of the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS) including Gambia, Benin and Senegal have started presenting their country reports on Wednesday, November 30, 2022 at the ongoing Second Ordinary Session in Abuja Nigeria.

But a member of Ghana’s delegation to the Parliament, Mahama Ayariga in an interview with Ghanamps.com, ahead of the presentation of the report said it is about time ECOWAS allows its country representatives to present shadow country reports to help provide the true states of events in member states.

“I suggested that, we should begin to ask those country representatives to also send us shadow country reports; because if individual members cannot give us a truthful account of what is happening in their countries to pick up some early warning signals, our representatives should be able to do that”.

According to him country report presentation turns out to be dishonest because representatives presenting the various country reports, all create the impression that their countries are doing well, all because people from the various countries do not want to appear at an international forum to undermine their countries.

 

He pointed out that by this practice, when there is a problem ongoing in a member state, at least the country representatives appointed by ECOWAS can give alternative reports of each country. Again, the composition of lawmakers at the ECOWAS Parliament is made up of both the Majority and Minority side of their various member states.

“What we could do is to have the Majority and Minority present country reports, so that members have the opportunity of two set of reports, then we can decide as to who is being more truthful than the other”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com

“ECOWAS needs a strong standing army to deal with peace and security”—Mahama

Posted on by Kwaku GhanaMPs
Speaker ECOWAS Parliament left Chair Authority of Heads of States right

The first rapporteur of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Mahama Ayariga has said the sub-regional bloc should have a strong standing army.

According to him some countries have demonstrated that they are just incapable of internally dealing with the issues of peace and security, they need the sub-region to intervene in those areas.

He further pointed out in an interview that an army that is adequately resourced, capable and can play an effective role in this regard but they need resources.

But as to whether his call is not late in coming, he said “I agree with you, but noted that better late than never, and it’s a question of resources”. He believes there are new emerging areas we can tap into for taxing to support the sub-region. For instance, “we have telecommunications, across the sub-region. The telecom industry is playing a major role in the sub-regional countries and taxing it and keeping the resources to themselves”.

He questioned, how about if we can find away and say okay if there are calls across the sub-region, those calls going to the sub-region that portion of it should go to the sub-regional organisation.

“For instance, when he calls Ghana now, there should be some tax that goes to ECOWAS because if the sub-region is functioning very well it will reduce a lot of transaction cost for businesses and individuals. There are many people across the sub-region whose family are from one part of the sub- region and live in another part of the sub region.

“So whatever happen in one part of the sub- region affects everybody, what affects his constituency in Ghana will affect neighboring constituencies in let’s say Burkina Faso and whatever happen in Burkina affects him directly same way in Togo he does business in other parts of the sub-region”.

And because he is directly affected over what happens in one sub-regional country, he will not mind strengthening the sub- regional government to be able to provide peace and security in every part of the sub- region, he emphasised.
“So that, I can travel to Northern Nigeria in peace, if the government of Nigeria is in difficulties, I do expect the entire government of West Africa to be there to help; same with Burkina Faso and I think every citizen of the sub- region is really willing to make some contribution to achieve this”.

On who should kick start the debate for additional funding, he noted that as we having these discussions we are putting forward ideas and we are saying, “can we tax the telecom industry and whatever other industry we will be able to pull resources from to be able to support the sub-regional government and what is available”.

In addition, he questioned if the levy can be fully accounted for as it’s important that also the Authority of Heads of States and Governments, should seriously consider giving away power to some sub-regional institutions so that, they can be effective. For instance in the area of security if they really give some national powers to a sub-regional police force, military force he believes that it will be very effective. Sometimes within countries they have their internal weakness; there are police force that they cannot quite control internally but sub-regional force may be able to rise above some of these things and stamp their authority.

On the behavior of nationals to make sure that those attitude and tendencies do not undermine peace and security in the sub- region, he said if everybody in the sub- region knew that, “if I miss conducted myself here, I do not have to contend with the government of my country, I am going to be visited by a sub- regional enforcement agencies they will calculate twice before they do the things they are doing”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com