ECOWAS Lawmakers Advocate Budget Reforms, Autonomy Enhancements

ECOWAS Lawmakers Advocate Budget Reforms, Autonomy Enhancements

The Joint Committee of the ECOWAS Parliament has proposed new budget reforms  for consideration by leaders of the subregional bloc.

The committees are those of Administration, Finance, Budget, Public Accounts, Macroeconomic Policy and Economic Research.

The lawmakers also recommended the amendment of the 2016 Supplementary Act, which bothers on parliamentary autonomy and powers to the bloc’s leadership.

This follows the adoption of the Community’s budget report by members of the Joint Committee at the end of a 3-day technical session of its delocalised meeting in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was presided over by Rep. Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker, Nigeria’s House of Representatives, who is the Chairman of the Joint Committee.

The parliamentarians adopted the report and recommendations, for forwarding to the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government through the Council of Ministers.

The meeting, which began on Monday, was marked by discussions on the role of parliament in the development, execution, and control of the ECOWAS budget.

The report contained recommendations for further consultations and study of other similar Parliaments across the globe.

“It is pivotal to send a parliamentary diplomatic mission to notable parliaments with the same or similar competences, such as the European Union and the East African Legislative Assembly, to study and analyse their achievements in these areas.

“The Committee also underscored the need for a Resource Pool and Budget Framework, which will be used to examine the community budget for the effective discharge of the budgetary function of the ECOWAS parliament.

“The Committee noted the overlapping oversight functions between the Administration and Finance Committee (AFC) and the ECOWAS Parliament on the community budget, and called for alignment of the legal framework to ensure synergy.”

The parliamentarians also recommended the review of its Supplementary Act to give Parliament the required powers to perform its core functions, namely, representation, legislation and oversight.

They also recommended the amendment of the Rules of Procedure for the proper functioning of parliament in discharging its functions.

The Committee also proposed a mission to embark on diplomatic engagements with the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government and other leaders toward the enhancement of the powers of the ECOWAS Parliament.

Members of the Committee expressed concerns about budgetary arbitration, while indicating the need to include the ECOWAS Parliament in the budget arbitration process.

They also recommended the creation of a budget harmonisation committee comprising the ECOWAS Commission, the Council of Ministers, and the ECOWAS Parliament, to review the Community budget before it is finalised.

Earlier, the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Memounatou Ibrahima, called on member states to scale up funding to enable ECOWAS to meet its various challenges.

Also, the Committee’s Chairman, Kalu had assured that parliament would be transparent in the use of funds.

Kalu said this would be achieved through meaningful engagements with critical stakeholders like the ECOWAS Commission and the Administration and Finance Committee (AFC).

The Committee is responsible for matters relating to adoption of community budget; examining the draft annual budget of the Parliament; monitoring financial and administrative management in the parliament.

The Committee is also charged with the task of evaluating the effectiveness of implementing policies financed by the Community and controlling the execution of the Parliament’s budget.