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Opening statement by the President of the Republic of Ghana and the President of the ECOWAS Authority, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at the Virtual Summit of the 58th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, Saturday January 23, 2021.
We should have been gathered today in Abuja, capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for the 58th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS. However, the demands of the time forced us to virtually converge at this summit. I send you all my best wishes for a year full of strength, good health and happiness, and for the growth and prosperity of our individual nations and our ECOWAS community.
I warmly congratulate all of our brothers who were re-elected for another term in the elections that took place in the ECOWAS region throughout 2020, including my modest self. I wish each of us a successful mandate in carrying out the high offices of our respective mandates. Thanks to these elections, we continue to strengthen the democratic references of the Region, which bodes well for our future.
Allow me also to extend the sincere condolences of the ECOWAS Community to the governments and peoples of the republics of Ghana, Mali and Niger, who have lost former presidents and former prime ministers. I wish that we observe a minute of silence in honor of the memory of the late Presidents, Their Excellencies Jerry John Rawlings of Ghana, Moussa Traoré and Amadou Toumani Touré of Mali, and Mamadou Tandja of Niger, and the former Prime Ministers, Their Excellencies Soumaila Cissé and Modibo Keita from Mali. May their souls rest in perfect peace. Amen!!
Excellencies, 2020 has been a particularly difficult year in our history and that of humanity, because of COVID-19. The pandemic has spared no sector of our social, economic, humanitarian, financial and security life. It continues to be even more devastating, especially with the onset of the “second wave” and the emergence of a new variant of the virus in most parts of the world. Its negative impact has accentuated and worsened the exogenous shocks affecting our region. The pandemic has brought in its wake unprecedented levels of hardship for all of us.
However, far from seeing this situation as a disaster before which we are powerless, we must fully embrace the lessons it teaches us, as well as the direction it shows us. In particular, we must remember that this gave us a good idea of the importance for us of strengthening our unity and solidarity. It has provided us with the path to be self-reliant, and it is a clear call for us to remain faithful to the main objective of ECOWAS, which is to promote cooperation and integration for the well-being of our citizens.
We have shown tremendous resilience and solidarity throughout the period, as evidenced by the decisions taken on April 23, 2020, at our Extraordinary Summit, which helped contain the spread of the virus in the Region. . Allow me to sincerely thank our Champion in the fight against COVID-19, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari, for the important efforts made through the provision of COVID-19 drugs, medical equipment and the deployment of resources to our respective countries.
Our gratitude goes to our foreign friends for their invaluable support, which has enabled the ECOWAS Commission and the West African Health Organization (WAHO) to broaden their scope of support to Member States to complement their efforts. . The time has come for us to work hard to immunize our populations. We must send them a strong signal, from this summit, of our determination to protect them.
Excellencies, despite the pandemic, we have preserved and strengthened the achievements of regional integration, in particular in the area of consolidation of democracy, the pursuit of the free movement of goods and the development of economic infrastructure.
We continue to face critical security challenges with deadly terrorist attacks in Mali, northeastern Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Niger. I reaffirm our strongest condemnation of these attacks in our region and our community and I deplore the activities of these criminal and terrorist groups. We sympathize and extend our sincere condolences to the affected countries and the families of the victims.
These developments must strengthen our conviction that we must continue, even more vigorously, the actions we have undertaken, with the swift implementation of the decisions of our Extraordinary Summit on Terrorism, held on September 14, 2019. This concerted effort, which must being a major priority objective for the Community is the best way for us to collectively meet the security challenge and to give ourselves the means to ensure the security of the populations of our Community. Our dignity and sovereignty are at stake.
I thank all Member States who are making significant efforts to support our initiatives, in this regard, especially those who have started making their financial contribution to the US $ 1 billion ECOWAS Regional Security Fund (ERSF) ( $ 1 billion), created in support of the 2020-2024 Counterterrorism Action Plan. Collecting this money must be a priority for us, because it allows us to act independently in this crisis. Your Excellencies will recall that the 2019 Summit established the Fund for a period of five (5) years, 2020-2024.
WAEMU countries have pledged a contribution of five hundred million United States dollars (US $ 500 million), while the Federal Republic of Nigeria has also pledged three hundred and fifty million dollars (US $ 350 million). US dollars); leaving a balance of one hundred and fifty million dollars (US $ 150 million) for the remaining six (6) countries and other sources.
Of the five hundred million US dollars ($ 500 million) pledged by the WAEMU countries, one hundred million ($ 100 million) were disbursed directly to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to help them in their activities. anti-terrorism.
We have not yet been informed of the status of the commitment balance. Of the Nigerian pledge of three hundred and fifty million dollars ($ 350 million), one hundred million dollars ($ 100 million) was pledged for 2020, of which eighty million dollars ($ 80 million) was to be used directly by them in their fight. against terrorism on their northern border, and twenty million dollars ($ 20 million) was to be paid into the Fund. The Commission is awaiting confirmation of the transfer instructions for this amount, which will then leave a balance of two hundred and fifty million dollars to be paid into the Fund by Nigeria.
Ghana, for its part, has decided to pledge fifty million dollars ($ 50 million) over the period of five (5) years, of which ten million dollars ($ 10 million) is intended for the Fund and forty million dollars. dollars ($ 40 million) for national empowerment of our border security against possible terrorist incursions. Half of the ten million dollars ($ 10 million), or five million dollars ($ 5 million), was paid by Ghana into the ESRF account, from which confirmation transfer instructions for this payment were received. .
The remaining one hundred million dollars ($ 100 million), which is to be paid voluntarily by the other five (5) countries and other sources, will complete the establishment of the entire Fund. We need to do it as quickly as possible.
We must also tackle the growing threat to maritime security in our region. Acts of piracy and maritime destabilization are increasing rapidly in the Gulf of Guinea, illustrated by data, which indicates a forty percent (40%) increase in pirate activity in the Gulf in 2020 compared to 2019. It calls for a strong regional response.
On the critical issue of the single currency for the Community, we have agreed on a revised convergence policy, on which a report will be presented to us at this meeting. I am of the opinion that the difficulties linked to compliance with the convergence criteria should not stand in the way of the rapid establishment of a payment and settlement system within ECOWAS, which will allow rapid expansion of trade and investments in the Community. At this Summit, we will receive a progress report on this issue.
Excellencies, achieving strong economic growth, based on resilient economies, is a challenge that we must accept and achieve. We must remain focused on the implementation of our programs and projects in all areas to ensure the well-being of our people.
We can best achieve this by strengthening our regional integration. Thus, the entry into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which began its activities on January 1, offers us additional opportunities to achieve our goal. The AfCFTA, as we all know, is arguably the most important initiative launched by the African Union. We all have a duty to ensure its success.
I remain convinced that, as usual, the quality of our discussions and of the decisions that we will take together will match the ambitions we have for our region.
I conclude my welcome address by wishing our meeting every success and hereby declare open the 58th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Thank you very much for your attention!
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