On Thursday, Dr Yakubu Zakaria, director of programmes of ISODEC, (Integrated Social Development Centre), said since the establishment of ECOWAS in 1975, little progress has been made as far as its objectives are concerned and “any time ECOWAS is mentioned it is about heads of states and nobody hears about ECOWAS in the community”.
“Most of you here have travelled before and you could see that travelling from Ghana to Nigeria is like going through hell.
“Today ECOWAS wants to change this trend and make it an ECOWAS of the people,” he told participants from non-state-actors at Sunyani in the middle part of Ghana as part of the Centre’s effort to promote education on the ECOWAS integration process.
“…the only way to curb poverty in the sub-region is to open the borders of the various countries constituting the regional body and allow for free movement and trade among citizens of the sub-region.”
The Centre, Dr Zakaria says, has identified huge information gaps among non-state actors on the free movements of goods and services in the regional integration process.
However, he assures that the new vision of ECOWAS at the community level will ensure that citizens live in a developed and integrated region where all the 15 national economies are fused into one integrated, competitive and resilient market.
Continuing the education at Navrongo in the Upper East Region, north of Ghana, Dr Zakaria says ISODEC aims to build the capacity of non-state-actors on issues of regional integration towards the realization of a custom union and common market in West Africa.
The ISODEC project, Dr Zakaria notes, is intended to launch an ECOWAS brigade in the northern, middle and southern zones to promote a border transparency index. The project will allow for smooth movement of goods and services, and also help find out which borders performed well or badly.
Understand Africa's tomorrow... today
We believe that Africa is poorly represented, and badly under-estimated. Beyond the vast opportunity manifest in African markets, we highlight people who make a difference; leaders turning the tide, youth driving change, and an indefatigable business community. That is what we believe will change the continent, and that is what we report on. With hard-hitting investigations, innovative analysis and deep dives into countries and sectors, The Africa Report delivers the insight you need.
