President of ECOWAS Commission, Amb. James Victor Gbeho who made this known at a Media Briefing in Abuja to commemorate the 36th Anniversary of the Community, said the other programmes relating to the facilitation of road transport and regional transit through the corridor approach are being implemented with financial support of the World Bank, European Union and the African Development Bank.
According to Gbeho, the Eco Air transport project is to be achieved through an amalgam of the existing West African airlines to compete internationally, noting that the companies were small and limited in terms of resources, pointing out that direct travel schedules within the region were erratic. He said, already, Aviation chiefs were asked to work together with ECOWAS and within 4 weeks, air companies will be invited to discuss how to drive the initiative.
While fielding questions from newsmen at the briefing, the Commission revealed that its operational budget was now been sourced wholly from member states which it said was an indication of great political will of the community. It said on 25 percent funding of its programmes come from external bodies and 3 percent from its partners debunking claims that the organization is being run by donor funds.
On its fight against human trafficking, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Gender and Human Development, Dr. Adrienne Diop said a joint action-plan with the Central African Economic Community is being implemented to reduce the scourge. She however stressed the need for families to be enlightened to discourage parents and guardians from promoting trafficking while calling for sanctions and strong laws to check the activities of human traffickers.
The ECOWAS President, Gbeho further blamed human trafficking on 3 factors namely, poverty, ignorance and greed. He said the media has the responsibility of enlightening the people especially those at the grass roots to check the problem. He said the commission would therefore meet with the media to workout strategies to help it perform its role more effectively.
Speaking on the implementation of the single currency plan for the sub-region- the ECO and multilateral surveillance, the Commissioner for Micro-Economic Policy, Prof. Bamba N’Galadjo, the commission will ensure monitoring of member states on how they coordinate their monetary policies towards the implementation of the common currency.
He said each member states must manage public funds within the common regional rules as this principle, he explained, will build confidence of the member countries in the ECO ahead of its introduction in 2020.
Other achievements of ECOWAS listed by Amb. Gbeho include implementation of its flagship Protocol on Free Movement of People and Goods, and the Right of Residence within the region, which is the first and only visa-free travel regime on the continent of Africa, commencement of its transport and transit facilitation program, the major part of which involves the construction of five joint border-posts along the major corridors in the region and the finalization in 2010 of a logical framework and a regional agriculture investment plan amounting to US$900 million for the implementation of ECOWAP for the 2011-2015 period; and commitment by the ECOWAS Commission to contribute US$150 million over a five-year period towards the implementation of the regional agricultural investment plan.
The Commission has also launched the INTELCOM II program with the identification of 32 inter-State telecommunications liaisons to constitute a joint infrastructural broad-band network which will be connected to the international global network via submarine cables. As at December 2009, 55 percent of the liaisons had been completed and 45 percent had become operational.
14 national studies have been validated as at November 2010 as part of the Commission’s continued formulation of Community Development Program (CDP) and making the Commission’s programmes impact the grassroots within Member States. In this regard, financial assistance would be provided to the National Committees of the CDP following the submission of their work programs to the Commission.
In Education, the Commission has continued with measures for the implementation of the ECOWAS Convention on Certification Equivalence.
On Democracy and Good Governance, through the adoption and effective application of the ECOWAS Mechanism (1999) and the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance (2001), ECOWAS has been able to progressively and incrementally pacify the region and promote democratic governance. By applying the policy of ‘Zero Tolerance’ to power obtained or maintained by unconstitutional means, ECOWAS, with the cooperation of the African Union and the United Nations, has succeeded over the past two years to restore constitutional order and legality in the Member-States Guinea, Niger and Cote d’Ivoire.
Despite the remarkable progress achieved, the ECOWAS Commission however realized "that the security situation in the region continues to be characterized by fragility and unpredictability. Governance institutions remain weak and greater efforts need to be applied, in collaboration with civil society and other partners, to strengthen institutions, reform the security system to make it more responsive to democratic control and human rights; and ensure greater separation of powers, adherence to the rule of law and anti-corruption principles".
Also present at the Media Briefing were the ECOWAS commission Vice President, Jean de Dieu Somda and the Commissioner for Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources, Qusseini Salifou.
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