ECONOMICS
ECOWAS
WEST AFRICA
West Africa is made
up of sixteen nations, covering an area of 6.25 square kilometers. The greatest
north-south distance is less than 2,000 kilometers, while the great east-west
distance is approximately 3,400 kilometers. About half of west Africa is either
desert or semi-desert, and three of its constituent states—Burkina Faso, Niger,
and Mali—are landlocked and makeup about 45 percent of the region. With a
total length of 252,561 km, the region's road density (network length divided
by area) is 0.041, while the rail density is approximately zero due to West
Africa's small amount of 5,960 km of railways.
West Africa has 215
million people as of the middle of 2002, and its population doubles roughly
every 20 to 30 years. This makes up around 30% of the people that live on the
continent of Africa. Ibadan and Lagos in Nigeria, Accra in Ghana, Abidjan in
Cote d'Ivoire, and Dakar in Senegal are the most populated cities in West
Africa.
West African nations
have unusually young demographics, with a range of 43 to 49 percent of the
population being under 15 and a very low number of people over 65.
ECONOMIC COMMUNITIES OF WEST AFRICAN STATES (ECOWAS)
15 of the 16 West African nations came
together to establish ECOWAS in 1975 with a lengthy list of admirable economic
objectives for the area. In this essay, I will give a quick overview of this
regional economic structure as well as the key presumptions that guided its
formation.
West Africa's history of economic
cooperation entered a new phase with the formation of ECOWAS on May 28, 1975,
in Lagos, Nigeria.
The establishment of the regional
organization took place ten years after the United Nations Economic Commission
for Africa recommended that member states of the commission establish
sub-regional intergovernmental machinery for coordinating their iconic and
social development in resolutions 142 and 145, passed at the seventh session
held in Nairobi in February 1965.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF ECOWAS
Coordination and development: One of
ECOWAS's goals is to foster coordination and growth among the member states
that make up the organization in all spheres of economic activity, including
transportation, energy, agriculture, and communications.
Commerce Liberalization: The creation of a
common market with the goal of liberalizing trade within the area was another
primary goal of the ECOWAS treaty.
To secure economic stability, they must also
boost and sustain it inside the neighborhood.
One of ECOWAS's objectives as an economic
organization is to eliminate trade restrictions and barriers among its member
states.
Encourage the free flow of people,
commodities, and services to foster a quicker, closer relationship.
To Promote Increased Production: When ECOWAS
was established, the goal was to hasten the industrialization of the area and
encourage higher levels of output.
Physical and monetary integration: Another
goal of the founding of ECOWAS was to secure the physical and monetary
integration of West African States.
HEADQUARTERS
The administrative center of the community
is in Abuja, whereas the fund center is in Lome. The establishment of the
subregional economic organization was started by Nigeria, under the direction
of General Yakubu Gowon, and Yogo, under the leadership of President Eyaokma.
ORGANS OF ECOWAS
The organizations' established organs are
listed below.
Heads of state and government have the
following authority: This is the organization's principal and highest
authority. It is composed of the leaders of the sub-governments region and
states. This body's chairman, whose position is filled on a rotating basis and
who serves a one-year term, is in charge. This body only convenes once a year,
however special meetings may be held.
The Council on Ministers meets twice a year
and is made up of the ministers or representatives of each member state. A
simple majority is used to decide on problems.
The Executives Secretariat: The executive
secretariat is the administrative organ of ECOWAS. It is located in Abuja. The
Secretary-General is the head of the Secretariat. He is the Principal executive
officer of the community and is responsible for the general administration of the
community. He is assisted by two deputy executive secretaries. The office is
for a period of four years and may be re-elected for another term. The first
executive secretary was AbubakurQuattara of Cote dilvoice (1977 – 1985),
followed by MomoduMunu of Sierra – Leone (1985 – 1989), followed by AbassBundu
of Sierra Leona (1989 – 1993), followed by Edoured Benjamin of Guinea (1993 –
1999), followed by Kadre Desire Ouedraogo of Burkina Faso 2012 – Present.
Fund of Co-operation, Compensation, and
Development: The headquarters of this fund is in Lomo, Togo. It is headquartered by
a managing director, who is appointed by the council of ministers. The functions
of the funds are compensation, foreign investment, development projects, and mobilization.
The Community Tribunal: This tribunal
settles disputes among member – states making up the organization on matters
affecting the interpretation of the treaties that establishes ECOWAS.
The Technical and Specialized Commission,
ECOWAS has four technical and specialized commissions.
The industry, agriculture, and natural
resources commission.
The trade, customs, immigration, monetary and
payments, and commission.
The transport, telecommunication, and energy
commission.
The social and cultural affairs commission.
ACHIEVEMENT OF ECOWAS
The
removal of customs duties: customs duties that may come up in
arrears of exportation and importation of goods are removed.
Elimination
of Obstacles: There is the elimination of obstacles to
allow the movement of persons, services, and capital.
Elimination
of Administrative Restrictions: there
are other restrictions on trade within the sub-regions that have been removed.
The established order of funds: Finances are installed for
cooperation, reimbursement, and development.
Mediation:
Member states mediate in disputes among states e.G.
Nigeria and Chad, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
Formation
of ECOMOG: ECOMOG become shaped as a peacekeeping
force and it helped in restoring democracy in each of Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Co-Operation
In Culture And Sports: Member states
co-function in these areas as an instance, in the area of soccer there is the West
African soccer Union (WAFU).
Apartheid and neo-colonialism: Member states
inside the sub-region spoke in opposition to apartheid coverage in south
Africa and neo-colonialism.
Boom and growth of Markets: production of
different types of merchandise, and items, growth of markets in member states.
Solidarity: the status quo of ECOWAS has
helped in uniting the humans of member–nations irrespective of the difference
in ideology, historic historical past, tribes, and beliefs.
PROBLEMS OR WEAKNESSES OF ECOWAS
Colonial
Masters: The political
economics of contributors-country are tied to those of their respective former
colonial masters.
Language limitations: reputable languages of
member - countries are overseas and sundry. English, French, and Portuguese, thus
complicating the communique trouble.
Ideological variations: This additionally
hampers the cohesiveness of the community.
Common
Currency Problem: Foreign currencies
like the franc, pound, starling, and dollar decide the stability of the currency of
member states and there is no common currency for member kingdoms.
Different
Level of Economic Development: This
impeaches motion closer to harmonizing the unique economics of member states.
Political Instability: The common extrude of
management in member–international locations is every other hassle in ECOWAS.
Global
Economic Recession: This complicates the efforts of the financial system and its members.
The similarity of Products: The similarity of
merchandise of member – states makes a change amongst ECOWAS states default and
unprofitable.
Fear
of Domination: The worry of domination of smaller states
through larger ones barrier to unity.
Inability to Contribute to ECOWAS Fund: The inability of member-states to make a contribution to the ECOWAS fund is any other
essential problem.
Transportation
and Communication: These are part of the principal
issues dealing with the network.
Main Assumption for the advent of the
organization.
It is commonly agreed that change
liberalization inside a collection of nations maximizes monetary performance
from the agencies factor of view ECOWAS created an unmarried market of
approximately 215 million purchasers in West Africa and this kind of massive
marketplace has the capability to create possibilities for specialization in
subjects of manufacturing and for the status quo of large – scale industries.
The best became that the smallest – length of a few country-wide markets might
now not act as a brake at the monetary improvement of the “micro” states of
West Africa; Cape Verde, Cambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Togo. It
is predicted that of all of the 15 member – states of ECOWAS simplest Nigeria,
and to a lesser extent, Ghana and cote d'Ivoire the functionality to
install heavy enterprise primarily based totally on the dimensions in
their domestic markets Convememlukwu2000, P. 215)
The
lifestyles of a wide, network marketplace may want to stimulate manufacturing.
New industries can be mounted whilst the prevailing one might have a tendency
to extend and take gain of an amplified marketplace and make the most of the outcomes
of economic sales. However it became diagnosed via way of means of a few early
producers, who earlier than the combination loved excessive country-wide site
visitors protection, can be harmed via way of means of the post–union
dismantling of change obstacles and that the disruptive consequences of this
kind of improvement at the economies of the few nation contributors can be
substantial to treatment this situation, article 26 of the ECOWAS Constitution
said that “In the occasion of significant disturbances taking place withinside
the economic system of a member nation worried shall take the essential secure
defend measures
THE ECONOMY AND ITS INTEGRATION:
The distribution of commercially exportable mineral resources has been a secondary, however an increasing number of strong,
determinants of Variation withinside the wealth in West Africa. Gold has
lengthy been quaked and panned withinside the vicinity and became a foremost
export in trans – Saharan trade, as overdue as the 1930s, many heaps of impartial
tactics had been engaged in its extraction the mining and operating of iron
also are historical in West Africa, However, it latest times, and in
comparison to agricultural production, mining has been undertaken particularly
through massive scale overseas enterprises,
the leader exception has been diamonds, in which small – scale alluvial
digging has persisted.
The
British colonial governments, with an eye as usual to boom both revenues,
determined it expedient to confer rights of exploitation on overseas groups
withinside the significance goldfield and massive scales mining of magazines
and diamonds in Cote D`ivare of diamonds and iron are in sierra Leone.
CONDUCTING COMMENTS
Although ECOWAS become created as a method
of selling the improvement of the west African region, it have to be seemed as
a single, all-iinclusive manner of attaining that quit due to the fact there
are limits to what the network can make contributions or accomplish. Economic
integration isn't always a panacea for the complicated issues of the region;
its fulfillment is depending on some of factors, mainly the problem of imposing
home reforms.
A wide variety of obstacles to improvement
can't be without delay inspired with the aid of using integration, which
includes the electoral price and the insufficient academic machine in maximum
of the international locations withinside the region, that are boundaries to
commercial improvement. West Africa stays one of the areas of the arena with
the bottom percent of enrolled schoolchildren, with a price of 39% in 1999.
Effectively imposing the network`s commercial program, for example, could
require a skilled exertions force, certified employees within side the area of
technology, equipped technocrats, and a corps of humans organized to occupy
control positions and nicely prepared to barter on behalf of the network with
outside companies and businesses working within side the region. As lengthy
because the vital skilled human energy is missing or to be had to best a
restricted extent, there's an integrated in test to commercial improvement
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE:
However there may be desire for the future.
The potentialities of ECOWAS In the second one 1/2 of of the 2000s stays
hopeful no matter the extraordinarily constrained achievements of the local
groups to date, and the issues that the vicinity faces All 15 participants have
lots to benefit through advent for the powerful operation of the organization.
The West African authorities is conscious that integration will sell their
collective development.
