The ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mrs. Massandje Toure Litsé, has tasked members of the technical committee responsible for selecting members of the proposed ECOWAS Regional Business Council (EBC) to ensure that the Council is inclusive and reflects the diversity of businesses in the region.
In a message at the opening of a three-day meeting of the committee held in Abuja on Monday, 5 August 2024, the Commissioner described the proposed Council as “a crucial body that will shape the region’s economic trajectory,” by “prioritising competitiveness and investment” as drivers of the region’s growth and development.
In her speech, delivered by Private Sector Director Dr. Tony Elumelu, the Commissioner said that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a free trade area for most African countries signed in 2018 with headquarters in Ghana, “represents a unique opportunity for our businesses to access new markets, increase trade and attract foreign direct investment.”
To achieve this objective, she stressed the need to mobilise “the collective effort of stakeholders, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which form the backbone of the economies” of member states.
She said that to achieve ECOWAS’ transition to a citizen-oriented community, the region has broadened private sector participation, particularly with the establishment of relevant structures mandated to facilitate the operationalisation of the EBC.
The EBC, she added, should be composed of prominent business leaders who can participate fully and represent the business sector at meetings of the Community’s decision-making bodies, with regional business associations playing an important role in this process. “In selecting members of the EBC, we must ensure that all businesses, regardless of their size or sector, have a seat at the table without ignoring MSMEs who must be represented so that their particularities are taken into account by the Council,” she said.
She therefore urged members of the technical committee to be guided in their selection by certain principles such as representation, inclusiveness, competitiveness and influence so that the EBC helps achieve its “ultimate goal of a prosperous and inclusive ECOWAS region where all businesses can prosper and contribute to growth and development.”
In his remarks, Acting Chairman of the Technical Working Group Mr. Gerald Amangwa emphasised the important role of the private sector which is “the very heart of development process” and expressed that the three-day conference will provide members with an opportunity to conclude outstanding issues in time for inaugurating by December 2024.
During these meetings members will discuss composition structure operations milestones requirements launch operationalisation among other topics.
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