Category: General

All is set for ECOWAS parliamentary three day’s seminar in the Gambia from Thursday, January 23 to 25, 2020.

A member of the Gambian delegation to the Community Parliament, Fatoumatta Njai and a member of the local organizing committee in collaboration with Gambia’s National Assembly noted that they are eighty   percent prepared for tomorrow’s programme.

According to her, they are having helping hand from staff of the ECOWAS Parliament secretariat from Abuja, who are on the ground to ensure a successful extraordinary meeting in the Gambia.

She pointed out in an interview that lawmakers from the Community Parliament have been well received with Bureau meeting held on Tuesday and the Conference of Bureau meeting on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the President of the Gambia, H. E. Adama Barrow is expected to be in attendance to open the Parliamentary seminar to be followed by the extraordinary meeting slated for January 27 to 31, 2020.. “So far so good everything has been going on well”, she explained.

Madam Fatoumatta Njai noted that the meeting is to evaluate what has taken place in the past four years and come out with resolutions since this is the last session of the life span of the fourth legislature.

“We have resource persons from all over the world and we would be looking at our enhancement powers; how far we have gone with it, what needs to be done as we move forward into the fifth legislature”.

She also indicated that for a smooth transition, “we are looking at the way forward always to be better, we need to evaluate and see what we have missed and the best that can be done”.

It is worth stating that the local organisation committee was seen around preparing seriously to ensure tomorrow’s even turns out good.

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The only female among the Gambian delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Madam Fatoumatta Njai has said she is hopeful of seeing the fifth legislature having two female deputy speakers.

According to Njai, discussions are ongoing and, “we might have two female deputy speakers, it is not confirmed yet”.

In an interview she pointed out that all over the world there are challenges with female representation, at the moment ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA) has lost seats of two representatives,  “we are hoping the ones to replace them would be females”.

“A country like Nigeria which has thirty-five seats in the Parliament, it should be possible for them to have more female representation”.

As to whether the situation has changed with the re-composition of representation to the fifth legislature, from the Gambia, she noted that she is the only female and with Ghana the re-composition has only one female Ama Pomaa Boateng.

She further pointed out that on the 28th of this month there would be a town hall meeting where, ECOFEPA would discuss issues of challenges of female Parliamentarians and they would be sharing with young female leaders their success stories.

This, she noted, would inform them on how best they can start mentorship programme with them to have more female leaders, adding that there are only three elected females in the National Assembly of the Gambia.

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Ahead of Thursday’s Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliamentary seminar, leader of the Gambian delegation, Mr.  Kebba K. Barrow said the meeting is a serious one to help take stock of activities of the fourth legislature.

According to the leader of the Gambia delegation preparation for the seminar and the extraordinary meeting are in “high gear”.

He disclosed that the office of the President has confirmed the attendance of the President to deliver a speech, while other high public officials including the Ambassador of the Gambia to the ECOWAS Parliament, Minister responsible for Regional Integration and ECOWAS, and the Speaker of the National Assembly who would be represented by her deputy because she is bereaved lost her mum over the weekend would be represented.

“So far everything is on course for tomorrow’s opening of the seminar;  a consultant would be in to present a report which would be discussed at the plenary. They would help link up with the strategy of the ECOWAS Commission to be able to come up with a draft plan for the fifth legislature”.

He assured in an interview that the extraordinary meeting is going to look at some of the things ECOWAS meeting is planning to do in the fifth legislature, he said.

Again, per the enhanced powers, the fifth legislature is going to start in the first quarter of 2020, but this has to be confirmed by the current chairman of ECOWAS from Niger, H. E.  Mahamadou Issoufou.

According to him, the place for the swearing in of the Parliamentarians would be discussed with the President of ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou before the first extraordinary meeting of the fifth legislature, but added that the date for the swearing in is not yet known.

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The unhealthy rivalry between lawmakers and Chief Executives at the various assemblies became a topical issue at the just ended public hearing of the Public Account Committee meeting.
District Chief of Executive for Ho West, Ernest Victor Apau   told the Committee he has the best of relation with his Member of Parliament as far as pushing agenda for the development of the District is concerned; he involves him in every activities of the Assembly.

In an interview with journalists, he noted that he is not aware of problems between DCEs and MPs, adding that  in his case he does not have a problem with his MP unless he is given evidence of problems MPs have with DCEs in other Districts.

“We have been established by law and each person has a role to play in the total development agenda that we pushing, we should engage each other the more in a very decent way, if we are considering development of the District”.

On the issue of the MPs Common Fund, he noted that the funds is the tax payers money and it is the duty of the DCEs to ensure that the money is used judiciously and the duty of the MP to engage the DCE to ensure that all the time the relationship is better.

“It is better if we are seen more united it gives a positive signal to the watching and listening public”, he said.

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Chairman of the Public Account Committee (PAC), Dr. James Kluste Averdzi has revealed that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are taking warnings against infractions when they come before the committee seriously.

According to the PAC chairman Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) are also doing same hence the size of the Auditor-Generals’ report for 2017 has reduced drastically.

He further noted in an interview that he is hoping that infractions would be eliminated completely, as enough notification has been given to the MDAs and MMDAs that with the 2017 report infractions would not be tolerated.

“Our warnings in the past is now reflecting as to what officials are suppose to do,  but there are still issues in the report that should be address, we are saying now that we would not allow you to go and bring receipt to support a transaction”.

Dr. Averdzi emphasised that at the point of audit if you were unable to provide receipt and payment vultures, officials would be sanctioned as they would be asked to refund monies because they were unable to produce those documents at the time of audit.

They would sit up, “I can tell you in the 2020 Auditor-Generals report which would come in 2021 or 2022 we might see a nil infractions in the AG’s report”.

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As the Public Account Committee (PAC) wrap up its public hearing on Tuesday 21st January 2020 on the Auditor-General’s report for 2015 to 2016, five Technical Universities would appear before the Committee on Monday.

They are Ho, Accra, Cape Coast, Koforidua and Takoradi Technical Universities where the 2016 Auditor-General’s report would be examined.

Assemblies in the Central Region who could not appear before the Committee last week Monday due to the excuse that they did not receive the invitation letters would come before the committee on Tuesday, as well as Assemblies in the Greater Accra who did not appear and those that gave unsatisfactory answers.

In an interview with journalists on Friday just after adjourning hearing, chairman of the Committee, Dr. James Kluste Averdzi noted that the hearing has been well attended apart from the first two days that had some issues.

And further pointed out that most of the issues raised on the AG’s report had been cleared from the various District, but there are few outstanding issues which are expected to be cleared by the District Auditors.

“We have given them a minimum of a week and maximum of two weeks for them to clear, and feed us with information for us to write our report”.

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Chairman of the Public Account Committee, Dr. James Kluste Averdzi has given hint that Assembly officials who spend lawmakers’ common fund without their knowledge would be surcharged.

He said this in an interview after it came out during the ongoing Public Account Committee hearing in Parliament House that most of the Assemblies use the MPs Common Fund without consulting the MPs.

“We would apply the rules to ensure that officials involve refund the money into the MPs account, that conduct is unacceptable”, he lamented.

Meanwhile, the committee is expected to conclude its hearing on the 2015/2016 Auditors Report on Tuesday, January 21, 2020.

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Ministers of Finance and Governments from the Central Banks of six West African English speaking countries have condemned their French speaking counterparts for unilaterally deciding to rename the CFA France as ECO by 2020.

At the end of a crucial extra-ordinary meeting on Thursday when they met in Abuja Nigeria under the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) on the ECOWAS single currency programme, Nigeria’s Minister for Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed on behalf of the Central Bank Governments and Finance Ministers presented the communiqué.

Mr.  Mamadi Camara, Minister for Economic and Finance of the Republic of Guinea, who chaired expressed worry by the declaration of His Excellency, Alasane Outtara, chairman of the Authority of Heads of States and Government of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) on 21st December 2019 to unilaterally rename the CFA France as “ECO” by 2020.

The WAMZ Convergence Council emphasised that the action taken by their French speaking counterparts was not in line with the decision of the Authority of Heads of States and Government of ECOWAS for the adoption of “ECO” as the name of an independent ECOWAS single currency.

“WAMZ council reiterates the importance for all ECOWAS member countries to adhere to the decision of the Authority of Heads of States and Government towards the implementation of the revised roadmap of the ECOWAS single currency programme”.

The following Ministers of Finance and Governments of the Central Banks of member states of the West African monetary zone, Mambury Njie  Republic of Gambia Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta Ghana, Mamadi Camara Guinea, Samuel D. Tweah Junior Liberia, Zainab S. Ahmed Nigeria, Jacob J. Saffa Sierra Leone were present at the meeting.

Whiles, Mr. Buah D. Saidy senior advisor Central Bank Gambia, Ernest K. Y. Addison Ghana, Lounceny Nabe Governor Guinea, J. Aloyslus Tarlue Junior Liberia, Kelfala M. Kallon Sierra Leone, Godwin I. Emefiele Governor Nigeria attending the meeting.

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