ECOWAS Administration and Finance Committee meets

Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) -The new management of the ECOWAS Commission is working to enhance
efficiency and equip the organisation to respond to the dynamics of
its external environment and the demands of community citizens, the
President of the Commission, Ambassador Kadre Desire Ouédraogo has
said.

In an address to a two-day meeting of the ECOWAS Administration and
Finance Committee (AFC) which opened in Abidjan on Tuesday, he said that various initiatives had been launched
as part of management's commitment  to eliminate waste and ensure the
efficient utilisation of the community's resources and address
structural deficiencies to enhance efficiency.

"We therefore look forward with excitement to fruitful collaboration
with the AFC in the service of our Community and with optimism that
our tenure will make a profound impact on the citizens," he added.

The president, who was represented by the Commissioner for
Administration and Finance, Mrs. Khadi Saccoh said these objectives
could not be realised without the "active support of the AFC and the
decision making structures of the community."

He said some of the initiatives have been captured in the eight
memoranda submitted for consideration by the committee whose
recommendations will be submitted to the mid-year session of the
Council of Ministers, scheduled to take place early June 2012 also in
Abidjan.

The representative of the Government of Cote
d'Ivoire, Mr. Tanon Felix reiterated the critical role of the
Committee to the efficient functioning of the Commission and other
Community institutions.

Mr. Tanon, Special Adviser to the Minister in charge of African
Integration in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the meeting was a
forum for evaluating and monitoring the administration and finances of
the community, adding that its recommendations contributed to the
building of a strong, viable and performing community.

Among the memoranda for consideration by the Committee is the one
requesting the doubling of the annual contribution to National
Coordinating Committees for the regional multilateral surveillance
mechanism in order to strengthen their capacity in line with the
decision of the October 2011 meeting of the Convergence Council.

There are also others, canvassing for additional budgetary
appropriations to enable the ECOWAS Youth Development Centre undertake
more youth and sports activities as well as proposals for a new
mechanism for monitoring and reporting on the tasks assigned to the
Commission and other institutions of the community.

It is the first session of the AFC being attended by the Commission’s
new management team led by President Ouedraogo with the compliment of
six Commissioners who took over in February 2012 from their pioneer
predecessors.
-0- PANA MA 16May2012