Abuja, 25th November 2019. The 26th Ordinary Session of the Administrative and Finance Committee (AFC) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) opened on the 25th of November 2019 at the ECOWAS Commission Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria.

The Meeting, will among others examine and adopt the regional community’s budget for year 2020.

In his opening statement, the AFC Chair Mr. Boubacar Seyni stressed the imperativeness of a critical appraisal by the representatives of ECOWAS Member States, of the conduct of the activities of the regional organisation.

He maintained that a vigorous exercise is needed in order to ensure that the deliberations meet the necessary conditions of sincerity and quality and in accordance with the 65% ratio for projects and programmes and 35% for operating expenses.

Priority attention, he further remarked, must be given to Community projects and programmes that have a real impact on the lives of the people in the region.

“We are here to work together to make our organization a successful model for regional integration in Africa that takes into account the deep aspirations of the citizens of our region” He added.

Also speaking during the opening of the AFC, the Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission H.E Madam Finda Koroma extolled the beauty of interaction and collaboration of senior management and staff of the Community Institutions and Agencies in the collective quest to promote integration and development while transforming the region from “an ECOWAS of States to an ECOWAS of People”.

She told heads of community institutions, Commission staff and invited guests that the budget proposals to be discussed went through a rigorous preparation process including a series of arbitrations in compliance with Article 76 of the Revised ECOWAS Financial Regulations while the arbitrations were based on the guidelines provided by the President of the ECOWAS Commission in the 2020 Budget Circular.

In doing region-wide service and finding common ground on issues, Vice President Koroma stressed the need to eschew opposition to approved positions, noting in this regard that delegates “must find a way to arrive at a ‘win-win’ in the course of our deliberations that is in the best interest of the ECOWAS people”

The ECOWAS Commission’s Commissioner for finance Mrs Halima Ahmed and her counterpart for General Administration and Finance Mr.  Vafolay Mbandoe TULAY were also on hand to restate the Commission’s position on fruitful deliberations seeing that the AFC meeting is expected to be dominated by all-round financial matters.

Deliberations began with the observance of a minute’s silence in memory of the late Marcel de SOUZA, former President of the Commission, and Bernard Aguh, former Head of the Commission’s Travel Unit.

The 2020 budget will be presented to the ECOWAS Parliament in compliance with Article 17(2) of the Supplementary Act A/SA.1/12/16 relating to the Enhancement of the Powers of the ECOWAS Parliament while recommendations will similarly be laid on the table of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers for consideration.

Photos of the ceremony