Here's how Wikipedia might have captured an "ECOWAS Commissioner" stub
'The Accidental Ecowas & AU CitizenIn my last article, I touched on the emergence of a permanent West African Civil service that the new ECOWAS Commission will eventually be. Since the commencement of the duties of the Commission in 2007, Community citizens can safely say the ECOWAS Commissioner has been an invisible force. We need the ECOWAS Parliament as an ally to ensure they become accountable. The jury is out as to whether an ECOWAS Commissioner can adequately-compete with the European Commission. What we do know is that ECOWAS has access to independent and non-donor resources that can transform the ECOWAS Commissioners into powerful plenipotentiaries fully representing the West African interest. One way of ensuring this happens is by shedding light on what the ECOWAS Commissioner is supposed to do to ensure the interest of the West African is preserved.
By E.K.Bensah Jr
An ECOWAS Commissioner is a member of the 15-member ECOWAS Commission. Each Member within the college possesses a specific portfolio, and is led by the President of the ECOWAS Commission. Simply put, they are equivalent of national ministers.
Appointment
It remains unclear at the moment how ECOWAS Commissioners are appointed. Ideally, each commissioner should first be nominated by their member state in consultation with the Commission President. Ideally, the more capable the candidate, the more powerful a portfolio the ECOWAS Commission President will assign.
The President's team should ideally then be vetted by hearings at the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja. In the absence of a legislative ECOWAS Parliament, community citizens are hamstrung by having the Commissioners attain the post without any formal vetting of any kind. Significant steps are in motion for the ECOWAS Parliament to graduate from a consultative to a legislative body. There has been no indication that when this happens, incoming ECOWAS Commissioners will go through hearings at the ECOWAS Parliament.
Once the Community Parliament is able to make this happen, one is likely to see more oversight by Parliament of the Commissioners, their duties, functions; and responsibilities to the citizens of West Africa.
What is likely to happen now is that the Authority of the Heads of State of Government of ECOWAS (which have powers binding on ECOWAS institutions) will be the ones to approve the ECOWAS Commissioners.
It should be noted that unlike the European Commissioner that does not necessarily represent their Member state, each of the fifteen ECOWAS Commissioners (including President and Vice) are representatives of their member states. This means, for example, that the Ghanaian ECOWAS Commissioner that will hold the portfolio of Administration and Conferences will automatically become the most senior Ghanaian at the ECOWAS Commission. It is a given that they should fight for the interests of Ghana.
That said, while each Commissioner will implicitly work for the interests of their Member State, it is believed they are supposed to act in 'West African interests'. Although there is a nebulous perception of the 'West African interest', perhaps the ECOWAS Treaty does attempt to spell it out for all and sundry in article 3(1) of the revised ECOWAS Treaty (1993). It is conceivable that the West African interest is one that seeks to 'promote cooperation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa in order to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations among Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African Continent.'
Unlike the European Commissioner, the ECOWAS counterpart is unlikely to be necessarily selected from the political party of the day. While it is difficult to predict what other West African countries would do, what one often finds in Ghana, for example, is that a political party in power is likely to nominate a (popular) political opponent to an international position as a way of ensuring they do not interfere with the politics of the day. For example, political opponent of the National Patriotic Party(NPP) Alan Kyeremateng was nominated to the position of the World Trade Organisation, and endorsed by ministers of the African Union. This runs counter to the European situation where the political party of the day almost-always rallies support for their popular member to be propelled into international civil serviceas was the case of the Labour Party in the UK recommending and lobbying for Lord (Peter) Mandelson to be become European Commissioner for Trade in November 2004.
Partly due to the member-state selection, only a handful of the 15-member Commission are women: the Commission remains largely a preserve of men.
In 2009, in his capacity as a 'Do More Talk Less Ambassador' of the 42nd Generationan NGO that promotes and discusses Pan-Africanism--Emmanuel gave a series of lectures on the role of ECOWAS and the AU in facilitating a Pan-African identity. Emmanuel owns "Critiquing Regionalism" (http://critiquing-regionalism.org). Established in 2004 as an initiative to respond to the dearth of knowledge on global regional integration initiatives worldwide, this non-profit blog features regional integration initiatives on MERCOSUR/EU/Africa/Asia and many others. You can reach him on ekbensah@ekbensah.net / Mobile: +233-268.687.653.
Source: Emmanuel K. Bensah Jr.
Story from Modern Ghana News:
http://www.modernghana.com/news/478910/1/heres-how-wikipedia-might-have-captured-an-ecowas-.html
Published: Wednesday, July 31, 2013
http://www.modernghana.com/news/478910/1/heres-how-wikipedia-might-have-captured-an-ecowas-.html
Published: Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Togo's ruling party has won a strong parliamentary majority. The country's electoral commission announced the UNIR party of President Faure Gnassingbé won 62 of the 91 seats in the legislature in the elections held on 25 July. The elections were originally scheduled to take place in October 2012 but were delayed repeatedly due to a tense political climate and demands for electoral reforms. About 30% of the country's polling stations opened late due to missing election materials, and a protest erupted when security forces temporarily shut down a pro-opposition radio station in the capital. Media regulators said the radio station violated election-day rules by broadcasting remarks by a political party representative. Despite such glitches, voting was generally calm and observers judged the election to be credible and transparent. "The peaceful atmosphere we have observed is promising and we would like to encourage Togolese to work hard to see the electoral process to a successful conclusion," said Ambassador Leopold Ouédraogo, the head of the ECOWAS observer mission. Ouédraogo urged all stakeholders to use only legal means to address any grievances related to the vote. Togo is scheduled to hold its next presidential election in 2015.
Gas is once again flowing through the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) following a nearly one-year interruption in operations. The West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCo), which operates the pipeline, said it has completed repairs of damage suffered during a maritime accident in August 2012. WAPCo Managing Director Charles Adeniji said the shutdown in operations has cost the company USD 165 million and repairs to the damaged pipeline amounted to USD 40 million. He said WAPCo is examining strategies to prevent a repeat of the pipeline breach. The company recently held an experts workshop to explore options for improving the effectiveness of the Pipeline Protection Zone (PPZ) and is making plans for a sub-regional conference later this year. The first regional natural gas transmission system in sub-Saharan Africa, the WAGP delivers natural gas from oil fields in Nigeria to customers, including power generation plants, in Benin, Ghana and Togo. The disruption in operations resulted in major power supply shortages in the receiving countries.
The West Africa Monetary Institute (WAMI) said no member country has as yet met all of the criteria for macroeconomic convergence necessary for the introduction of a single currency. WAMI Director-General Abwaku Englama made the disclosure during a meeting of central bank governors from the West Africa Monetary Zone (WAMZ), held on 25 July in Accra to review progress toward the establishment of a monetary union among the six countries. Following a period of review, the WAMI found that The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria had each satisfied three of the primary criteria for convergence, while Guinea and Sierra Leone had satisfied two. While all six countries have met the requirement for central bank financing of budget deficits, Englama said most countries are struggling to comply with inflation and fiscal deficit targets. Despite the challenges, the WAMI chief said important progress has been made, including the finalisation of negotiations for a common external tariff (CET) for the ECOWAS zone. West African leaders plan to introduce the Eco, the single currency for the WAMZ, in 2015 before eventually merging with the CFA franc to form a monetary union covering the entire West Africa region.
The ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulation Authority (ERERA) took an important step toward enhancing its credibility as an independent operator overseeing the regional electricity market. Energy experts from member states met from 24-26 July in Dakar to determine the modalities for the calculation and collection of regulatory fees and royalties for cross-border electricity exchanges. Since its creation in 2008, ERERA activities have been supported through contributions from the ECOWAS Commission and funding from development partners. The head of Electricity Sector Regulatory Commission of Senegal, Maïmouna Ndoye Seck, said the arrangement is unsustainable and out of step with international best practices. "One of the essential criteria for the proper functioning of a regulatory body is its financial autonomy, which can only be guaranteed by their own financial resources from fees paid by users and operators," she said. Seck said a well-executed fee system will allow ERERA to gradually wean itself off development assistance and provide the agency with sufficient means to carry out its mission to protect the interests of all stakeholders in the sector. By enhancing the authority and credibility of the regulator, the fee system is also seen as a means of boosting investor confidence in the regional electricity market.
Regional experts are taking measures to protect West Africa's cultural heritage from the kind of destruction seen during the conflict in northern Mali. Heritage officials and museum directors from ECOWAS member states gathered in Ouagadougou from 23-26 July to develop a common strategy for the preservation and development of the region's cultural wealth. Participants prepared a list of cultural assets for possible inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and they sought to strengthen training and co-operation among cultural heritage professionals through a collaboration between ECOWAS and the West African Museums Programme (WAMP). The meeting was scheduled as part of the implementation of the Action Plan on cultural heritage adopted by heads of state and government in 2003, in which culture is identified as a key component of development. Participants noted the increased urgency of the issue in the wake of the damage caused to the renowned mausoleums and manuscripts of Timbuktu by Islamist militants who occupied northern Mali in 2012. The director of Culture, Education, Science and Technology at the ECOWAS Commission, Professor Abdoulaye Maga, said protecting West African cultural heritage is key to determining "what type of region we want to build and what type of culture we plan to leave to our children".
