The Vice-President of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Edward Singhatey, was in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire from 20 to 22 February 2017 to ensure the monitoring of the implementation of the Community levy in that country.

During his stay in Abidjan, Mr. Singhatey, also chairman of the ECOWAS Community Levy Management Committee, met with several Ivorian personalities.

Among the personalities are Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Minister of Economy and Finance Adama Koné, Minister of African Integration and Ivorians in Diaspora, Ally Coulibaly, as well as Minister of Budget and State Portfolio, Abdourahmane Cissé.

Mr. Singhatey also met with the Secretary General of the Ivorian National Assembly, Latte N’Drin Lazare Ahouanzi, and the representative of the National Director of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) for Côte d’Ivoire, Amadou Fongbé.

It was an opportunity for him to commend the Ivorian government on its efforts and leadership in the regional integration process.

Regarding the Protocol on Community Levy, Mr. Singhatey said that Côte d’Ivoire has fulfilled its commitments set out in the Memorandum of Understanding signed in March 2016 with the ECOWAS Commission.

However, he expressed some reservations regarding, inter alia, the discrepancies in the figures on the Community levy for the 2014 – 2016 period, the problem of not applying the said levy in full on petroleum products and the non-transfer by BCEAO of the proceed of the levy into the ECOWAS main account domiciled in BCEAO Cotonou.

To this end, Mr. Singhatey requested the support of the Ivorian authorities to resolve these problems, and argued for the prompt payment, in 2017, of the sums specified for arrears clearance.

As for the Ivorian authorities, they asked the ECOWAS Commission to involve Member States in the proposed revision of the Protocol on Community Levy and to seek alternative funding for regional projects with a view to promoting accelerated development of the sub-region.

For his visit to the Ivorian administrative capital, Mr. Singhatey was accompanied by the ECOWAS Commissioner for Finance, Alieu Sesay, and the Chief Accountant at the Commission’s Finance Department, Bunu Lawan.