The Delocalize Meeting of the ECOWAS Parliament joint Committee on Public Account, Administration, Finance and Budget, Macroeconomic Policies and Economic Research, Trade, Customs and Free Movement, holding in Lome, Togo, has come to a close with several deliberations, inputs and recommendations made with the aim to move ECOWAS member states forward.
Issues deliberated range from, Administration, finance, accounts, economy, trade, customs and free movement, International Public Sector Accounting Standards, IPSAS, among others.
It was an intensed session with intense deliberations, as Members of Parliament and stakeholders drew home their points with suggestions and corrections, all geared towards a joint effort in enhancing the progress of the ECOWAS Community.
in their different submissions, the Members of Parliament and stakeholders called for better ways to better improving ECOWAS institutions in member states.
On the recommendations made, the joint Committee proposed an amendment to the existing provisions of the Supplementary Act, to further increase its powers in the area of mandatory assent on the community institutions and organs.
Making an observation on Article 86 of the Draft Report of the joint Committee, which states that, an initial draft will be proposed by the Legal Division of the Parliament, the Secretary General of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mr John Azumah, reminded the Committee of an initial suggestion for a small Committee to be set up through the Audit and Finance Committees, stating that the small Committee would draw up modalities, working with Legal Section of the Parliament.
“So i just want to say that our Legal Section will play a role, but that role is the responsibility of a small Committee, technical committee” he said.
He said that members of the Committee would be drawn from the audit and Finance Committees.
He observed there was a feeling that since the Audit Committee handling audit report is coming to the Parliament, it didn’t make big sense in terms of considering same, which he said is not proper.
“I did not remember us being very conclusive that we’re going to overrule the advice from the Administration and then designate people under Committee.
If the recommendation should be maintained as it is written here, then it means we have to take a decision in this sitting to over-rule that part” he suggested.
Referring to another recommendation by the joint Committee, Mr Azumah drew the attention of the Committee to Article 91, which seeks to establish a technical team composed of Parliamentary staff and headed by a member of the Bureau of the Parliament, to monitor the implementation of the Supplementary Acts of the Parliament.
“I’m thinking that, instead of saying the Supplementary Act, this sitting is clearly looking at Articles 9 and 11, so we’re basically in this meeting to draw up modalities concerning a practical implementation of Articles 9 and and 11.
So I think that anything we do here to have any monitoring, it should be to monitor the implementation of Articles 9 and 11 in all the entire Supplementary Act” he said.
On her part, the Director of Administration and Finance, ECOWAS Parliament, Mrs Anna Jagne, said the works that the Council of Ministers should also look into the recommendations made at the meeting.
The theme for the delocalized meeting is: “The modalities for the practical implementation of Articles 9&11 of the supplementary Act of the Parliament in respect of the consideration of the community audit reports”
