The implementation of “ECOWAS vision 2020” concertedly by various countries within the community will help resolve challenges inherent within individual countries, as iterated by the Chairman of ECOWAS, President Akufo-Addo.
Ghana’s President who doubles as ECOWAS Chair, insightfully revealed the purpose of his mission when he paid a working visit to the offices of the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja, Nigeria.
He urged staff of the Commission to collectively work towards the fulfillment of the agenda and development of West Africa by resolving gripping challenges within the community.
“As we round off the implementation of ECOWAS Vision 2020, and finalize the development of Vision 2050, we should strive to make ECOWAS a Community in which our dreams of prosperity, peace, security, integration and development are realized for the well-being of its citizens.”
“The challenges in the areas of democracy, health, security, economy, trade and currency, must be addressed in a spirit of genuine cooperation and solidarity, if we are to overcome them, which I am confident we can. I believe that, collectively, we can all make ECOWAS the most viable regional bloc in Africa, and realize the vision of transforming ECOWAS from ‘a body of states to a community of peoples”.
President Akufo-Addo outlined his 5-point Agenda for the chairmanship of the Community, which, according to him are, the fight against terrorism; winning the fight against COVID-19; trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA); the issue of a monetary union in ECOWAS; and the consolidation of democratic governance in the Region.
His Excellency Jean-Claude Kassi Brou and the Commission were lauded by the Chair for the laurels attained in areas of infrastructure, agriculture and humanitarian assistance.
In spite of their feats, the ECOWAS Chair required of them to also stymie teething problems within the infrastructural sector.
“In the infrastructure, I am aware that the Commission and its Specialized Agencies are implementing a number of infrastructure projects in the road, rail, maritime, energy and telecommunications sectors.
“I encourage the Commission to accelerate the implementation of infrastructure projects such as the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project, the Praia-Dakar-Abidjan Corridor Development Programme, and the Dakar-Bamako Railway Project. On telecommunications, the issue of high cost of roaming services should be resolved as soon as possible.”
Deliberating in the area of agriculture, the President regardless of the threats posed by terrorism and the COVID-19 pandemic which have affected negatively the food security situation in the Region, assented to the fact that food security is vital to the development of the Community.
“With respect to humanitarian assistance in the Region, persistent terrorist attacks and issues of climate change, particularly in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, have caused significant internal displacements of people. The Commission should… continue to provide assistance to refugees and internally displaced persons in the Region”.
President Akufo-Addo further touted the resilience of West Africans in weathering the storm of challenges and consequently engineering the transformation of poor societies into prosperous ones on the basis of democratic values and principles.
“European, American and Asian industrialization took place at times of limited franchises and authoritarian institutions. Ours is being done with full universal adult suffrage, in open societies. This is the magnitude of our challenge, and the nature of our prize. We should all be proud of being frontline actors in this great drama”.
