Trade Between ECOWAS member states hits $15bn

The President of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),  Marcel Alain de Souza, has disclosed that trade between the 15-member countries of the regional bloc has jumped to $15 billion  in recent years.

 A statement issued on Tuesday by the head of the media section of the commission, Ngozi Mwolisa and made available to BusinessDay, noted that Alain de Souza said this when he paid a courtesy visit to one of the founding members of the ECOWAS, and Nigeria’s former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, who marked his (General Gowon’s) 82nd birthday on October 19.

The ECOWAS President, who listed the achievements as well as the challenges confronting the sub-region during the visit, said “today, trade between our countries is estimated at $15 billion, compared to EUR 67 billion with Europe. We trade four times more with Europe than among ourselves. However, with the construction of the Abidjan-Lagos highway, railways, ports and airports, I believe that we will make much more significant progress.”

He commended the leadership and vision of General Gowon, which contributed to the establishment of the ECOWAS in 1975 and expressed the gratitude of the West African people to Gowon for the establishment of the Community, “saying the role, you and the late Togolese President, Gnassingbé Eyadema, played in the establishment of ECOWAS will never be forgotten by West African citizens and future generations.”

The Commission President also commended General Gowon for the many initiatives he took to speed up the regional economic integration process adding that the vision is still relevant and contributes to numerous achievements, the statement said.

These achievements include the abolition of visas to facilitate intra-regional mobility, free movement of persons and goods alongside promoting the right of entry, residence and establishment of Community citizens. “Today, migratory movement in West Africa is seven times greater than elsewhere,” de Souza disclosed.

He said further that the entry into force of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme and Common External Tariff, establishment of a West African Customs Union, implementation of a roadmap for the introduction of the single currency by 2020, are also among ECOWAS achievements.

Other achievements of the Regional Organisation include the construction of the Abidjan-Lagos highway, implementation of the joint border post programme and the West African Gas Pipeline project, the statement added.

Despite these achievements however, Marcel de Souza noted that many challenges still remain especially the fight against poverty, unemployment, migration of African youth to Europe, corruption, dearth of infrastructure, as well as low trade volume in the region.

General Gowon in his reaction congratulated Marcel de Souza on his appointment as Commission President stressing that “the objective of the then-Heads of State was to create a Community that would be home to all West African citizens, regardless of their nationality.”

He commended the efforts made by the ECOWAS Commission since its transformation in 2007 to promote West Africa’s economic development and integration.
Regional integration was also at the centre of discussions held on Tuesday, 1st November 2016 between Marcel de Souza and the new Nigerian Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, Babatunde Nurudeen.

The Nigerian Diplomat lamented obstacles to the free movement of persons and goods within the ECOWAS region, which are mainly characterised by extortion and harassment of travelers along Member -State borders as well as many illegal checkpoints on the main West African highways, the statement said.

He commended Marcel de Souza for the various measures he has taken since assuming office, particularly with the aim of controlling ECOWAS financial resources.
He however assured that with adequate measures, ECOWAS will address most of those challenges.