Author: Fred GhanaMPs

Community lawmakers, who were not present at the inauguration of the fifth Community Parliament in Niger at the early part of this year, were sworn in on Saturday, July 25, 2020 at the end of the Second Extra Ordinary Session which was conducted virtually via Zoom.

They included Califa Seidi from the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Prince Yormie Johnson from Liberia and Woraye Sarr from Senegal.

The rest are from Mali and included Ibrahim Yara, Amadou Diepkile, Mariam Kagnassy, Siaka Batouta Bagayoko, and Dieminatou Fomba.

At the start of the plenary it was made clear that Community lawmakers who had not been sworn in could not participate in voting and deliberations of the virtual meeting via Zoom as it is in the Supplementary Act, thus, their swearing in was deferred to the last day.

In the Supplementary Act A/SA.1/12/16 Article 29, clause (1,2 &3) states that;  “During the first sitting of the inaugural session and before assuming their duty, a Reprehensive shall affirm before the chairman of the Authority as follow:

“I declare on my honor that I will faithfully serve the interest of the peoples of the Community and that I will not submit to any direct or indirect pressures from any Member State or group.

During subsequent or future sittings, swearing-in of members shall be done before the Speaker of Parliament.

And this declaration, which shall be in writing and signed by every Representative, shall be recorded in the proceedings of the Parliament and may be referred to as and when necessary”.

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After a presentation made by  the  Commissioner of Finance at the opening of the virtual meeting of the  Second Extra Ordinary Session to the Community Parliament, a   representative of Ghana at the  Parliament, Clement Kofi Humado has said it is now clear countries that are lagging behind in paying the Community Levy.

According to him, it is clear that most of the West African sub-regional countries are not adhering to the protocol procedure of collecting the levies and sending them to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) account in their respective central banks.

He indicated the need to interrogate the issue at the Committee level and the Plenary and what he had heard from the Finance Commissioner the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the volume of imports in various countries and by extension affected the Community levy.

Mr. Humado in an interview pointed out that the extent to which the coronavirus has affected levies of countries did not come out clearly and added that at the plenary when the referrals from the Commission is being taken justice would be done to the referrals.

He urged lawmakers in the sub-region in their various national parliament to make statements drawing the attention of their governments and finance ministers to respond to their performance of the ECOWAS levy.

“I am happy Ghana is doing very well along side Ivory Coast. We are meeting most of our targets, I think the problem is with other smaller countries in the Sahel COVID-19 is affecting their imports. And their economies are not strong because of the adverse security situation they spend more on security hence the inability to remit proper amount of their ECOWAS levy”.

On the inability of Nigeria to meet its target, he noted that it is a bit confusing. “I think the levy has been collected but being stored in a certain Central Account that is not being released to the ECOWAS Commission. I do not understand why it is so, we should be able to deal with that when we come to the plenary”.

Mr. Kofi Humado commended the way the virtual meeting started despite few challenges and considering that the opening was the first time and looking at the number that participated including lawmakers, journalists and staff, and was very much impressed.

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Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament Rt. Hon Sidie Mohamed Tunis has commended Heads of States in the sub-region for measures taken collectively and individually in addressing the spread of the coronavirus.

According to him he was invited virtually to participate in the Extra Ordinary Summit of Heads of States and Government on COVID-19 held on April 22, 2020, an evidence of the commitment of the Heads of States towards the fight of the pandemic.

He further noted that pictures of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is not entirely gloomy though admittedly, infection rates are growing daily and deaths are still being recorded from complication associated with  the virus.

He noted that across the globe, the sub-region inclusive are becoming more familiar with the nature of complications that lead to death. Consequently, they are working towards ensuring that they treat symptoms as they appear and also identify certain existing drugs meant for other ailments to assist limit damages to infected patients.

The economic effects are yet to be determined, since the pandemic is still raging, there is hope that with collaboration and togetherness, we shall come out and tell the story one day, he emphasised.

The Speaker noted that the second extra ordinary session essentially was to consider some important referrals from the ECOWAS Commission and added that he expects that relevant standing committees would work assiduously to ensure that the view of the people are reflected in their decision making.

“I am aware that the draft Strategic Plan for the 5th Legislature is about being concluded by the General Secretariat for onward presentation to us. While we patiently await its submission for our consideration, we will also pursue the 2020 work plan as vigorously as the situation permits us to. In collaboration with the General Secretariat, we are watching unfolding events as they relate to the safety of holding physical meetings”.

And added that, the task of representing the people, embarking on oversight functions, conducting parliamentary interpellation, and providing a voice for the voiceless is beyond holding virtual meetings; ECOWAS Parliament, he added, would do its best to discharge its duty.

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President of the Community Court of Justice, Justice Edward Amoako Asante has lamented over a practice where the court has never in its history received referrals from any member state unlike their counterpart, the Community parliament currently working on referrals from the Commission.

According to him, the development is worrisome and has implications for the development of the Community law and its integration into the member states.

He further pointed out that the court is encouraged by the exercise of referral power given the Community Parliament albeit by the ECOWAS Commission. “We look forward to working with the Parliament towards ensuring that we receive referrals from the national courts”.

Adding, this would benefit and impact on the integration project and strengthen the collaboration between both institutions in the service of the Community and furthering the delivery of Justice.

Just like the Parliament, the Court also has the power to entertain referrals under its original mandate as the principal legal organ of the Community. In this role, the Court is required to ensure the observance of law and the principles of equity in the interpretation and application of the provisions of the 1993 Revised Treaty and all other subsidiary legal instruments of the Community.

Again, under Article 10 of the Protocol on the Court, it is vested with the power to issue in advisory capacity, a legal opinion on matters that require the interpretation of the provisions of the Treaty, it contributes to the prevention of conflicts or disputes as to the interpretation of the provisions of the treaty, he stated.

In his goodwill message at the Second Extra Ordinary meeting being held virtually, he noted that the pandemic has forced the adjournment of seventy one (71) cases including the twenty-seven (27) judgments and twelve applications for accelerated hearing.

“We are compelled to update the court’s practice direction and develop infrastructure for the electronic filing of cases while building the capacity of staff and other stake holders for the effective application of the technology”.

He further added that it is increasingly becoming obvious that virtual session would be the order of the day for the foreseeable future beyond the pandemic for the court and the technology has benefited on improving citizens access to the court and saving transport and associated cost of traveling to Abuja, “not to talk about saving hotel expenses for both parties and the lawyers”.

Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com