News:
September 29, 2024
Second Rapporteur of the Community Parliament’s Committee on Administration, Finance and Budget, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah has revealed that the three Sahel countries that gave notice of exiting the West African sub-regional bloc have stopped remitting their levies to the bloc.
According to him despite Guinea being under sanction for its military coup, same as the other three, Guinea continues to remite its levy to the bloc and cooperating to return the country back to democratic rule.
In a telephone interview with Ghanamps.com as he represents Ghana at the Community Parliament’s third Extraordinary Session ongoing in Lome -Togo, he pointed out that the shortfalls in the levy has affected salaries of ECOWAS staffs who have not seen increment, same with the allowance of MPs despite increment in goods, services and transport around the sub-region.
“When the Director of Finance and Administration in her presentation brought this to our attention, we noted that if we are not careful the Community institutions will collapse, as funds is the engine that is supposed to move the institutions in the Community”.
He further added that funds which are not forth coming as they should, will affect programs and projects, “Why will the three Sahel remit to ECOWAS their levies when they have served notice to sever ties with the bloc?
Because in their minds they are no longer members of the bloc. It is the reason ECOWAS institutions hit the wall each time they try to approach them, “they do not respond to any of our request, and we have up to January 2024 which will be the end of one year for their exit”.
Hon Bedzrah further pointed out that, the Speaker’s Committee on Administration, Finance and Budget had their meeting early before the third extraordinary meeting, to discuss the Community budget for 2025.
And the speaker formed an Ad Hoc Committee to prepare the budget of the parliament and as a member of that Ad Hoc Committee, the ECOWAS Commission has indicated that they should have a zero increment.
Which means, what was given to them as a budget in 2024, in 2025 they would not increase it, the Community leavy has not been coming, those doing their best to remit have reduced drastically, hence there is shortage in income, he disclosed.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com