The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament has adopted the report and recommendations for the ECOWAS Commission’s consolidated budget of UA418,072,408 for the year 2023.
The Administration and Finance Committee (AFC) of the ECOWAS Commission had earlier presented, for the Parliament’s consideration, a draft budget of nearly UA (unit of account) 428 million for 2023.
The Chairperson of the AFC, Cristina Pedreira, who had presented the budget before the Parliament, said the Committee came up with the draft budget and recommendations sequel to the 32nd Meeting of the AFC.
The AFC report indicates a general appeal to member-states to comply with the provisions of the ECOWAS Community Levy protocol to avoid imposition of the stipulated sanctions.
This led to Parliamentarians condemning the lackadaisical attitude of some member-states with regard to non-payment of community levies, which are the main source of funding for the budget.
The parliamentarians also denounced the attitude of certain countries which have not made any repayments since the beginning of this year 2022.
They expressed surprise that Member-States like Burkina-Faso and Guinea are up to date with their dues, despite their experiencing military-political crises that have disrupted their economies.
They accused countries that are “enjoying political and institutional stability” of being “unable” or “unwilling” to honor their commitments to the community through the repaying of their Community taxes.
However, some members of the ECOWAS parliament have faulted the process for the adoption of the 2023 Community budget.
RN