News:
May 30, 2024
As the push for full Legislative powers for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament surges, leader of the Liberian delegation to the 6th Parliament, Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe Jr. has cautioned for the push to be carefully done as Heads of States have their own concerns in this regard.
According to him, in national parliaments of member states there are times where the Executive arm of government and the parliament clash.
“And we do not want to do a regional clash, so we have to nature this process and assure the Heads of states we are not ruing for legislative powers because we want to rub shoulders. Rather, we want to enhance the tenancy of democracy, work with them and project the true image of ECOWAS like is being done in the European Union (EU).
He assured that they are going to work on this, adding, “I am happy that we have a Speaker now who was part of the past Bureau; those things that the past Bureau did not achieve, she would put them on the front burner so that she as a Speaker in her tenure would be able to achieve them.”
As to whether there are better days ahead for the sub-regional Community Parliament, he noted that there are challenging times, but he is hopeful as a person that things are going to get better, more especially as the Parliament has Guinea back in its fold.
In addition, like the Speaker noted in her acceptance speech, he chaired the Committee on selection; one of the provisions was that they would make provision for Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in the different Committees.
So that, they still have slots there and those are some of the things we would take to them whenever we meet them and engage them to return to the fold of the sub-regional bloc.
He was speaking in an interview on the sideline of the just ended Extraordinary Session in Kano Northwest of Nigeria.
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/Ghanamps.com