Vice President of Economic Community of West African (ECOWAS) Commission, Finda Koroma has said the West African region made significant improvement in all development indices in the year 2021, adding that countries in the sub-region have become borderless than in the past.
Speaking during the meeting of ECOWAS Administrative and Finance Committee (AFC) in Abuja, Koroma said ECOWAS has moved economic and monetary integration agenda forward, as well as enhanced the peace and security architecture to foster tranquility for political, social and economic development in the sub-region.
According to her, ECOWAS 2021 programming has led to improvements in key areas such as agriculture, environmental protection, climate change mitigation and adaptation, infrastructural development, promotion of education and cultural exchange, youth development, and the advancement of gender equality.
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Koroma while acknowledging that 2021 has been an interesting year for everyone, however said there have been many highs and some lows which have all come together to enhance the resilience of the people and ECOWAS institutions.
Koroma noted that communities are becoming closer and more borderless, adding that member countries have all come very close to adopting a common vision, namely the ECOWAS Vision 2050, that will guide their growth in the next 30 years.
She said the private sector is becoming more engaged and receiving significant support in advancing economic development and integration for the region, especially in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In his opening remark, the Chair of the Administration and Finance Committee of ECOWAS Commission, Mohammed Ismaila disclosed that on the 2021 Budget implementation there is indicative of the indispensability of the Community Levy as the largest source of revenue for ECOWAS, accounting for 71% of the approved Income for 2021.
He therefore pleaded with all Member States to continue to honour their financial obligations to the Community through their prompt contributions to the community levy to rightly equip ECOWAS with the requisite financial capabilities to effectively deliver its mandate.
( Editor, Omor Bazuaye)
