ECOWAS Looks To Implement Free Movement Across Region
The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is looking to push the implementation of protocols to smoothen the free movement of people; right of residence and; the establishment of businesses across West Africa.
This comes after the Parliament convened on Monday in Banjul, Gambia.
The session lasting five days is tagged, “Parliament’s Role in the Implementation of the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, Right of Residence, and Establishment in the ECOWAS Region.”
Parliamentarians from all over West Africa gathered to discuss the gains and challenges facing the actualization of the new protocol’s objectives.
The Gambia’s Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration, and Employment, Baboucarr Joof, stated that his country was ever immensed in achieving integration within West Africa.
He called for stronger legislation backing the protocls and for West African leaders to synergize in order to summount the possible pitfalls facing the protocol.
“The theme for this meeting is self-explanatory and, in many ways, fundamentally overarching in relation to the totality of the objective for which ECOWAS as a body was established.
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“Therefore, the free movement of people, the right to residence, and the concept of an unhindered opportunity for the community of the region to establish businesses freely across our borders are not just principles enshrined in our protocols—they are the true objectives of ECOWAS, the very foundation of the unity, economic integration, and prosperity that we seek for all our citizens,” Joof said.
In turn, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hadija Ibrahima, stressed that the protocol will never be actualized without the concerted efforts of the parliamentarians gathered.
“Policymakers and all stakeholders must unify their efforts to identify challenges and propose solutions that will maximise the benefits of free movement, both at the regional and national levels. These objectives will only be achieved through the development of coordinated policies and actions,” Ibrahima said.
The session is set to end on August 30, 2024.
Subsequently, a communiqué detailing the recommendations and decisions reached will be issued and submitted to the ECOWAS Commission and Parliament for further action.
