The challenge of livestock migrating from one country to another in search of pasture leading to the destruction of farms and livelihoods, has engaged the attention of ECOWAS Heads of State at their recent meeting in Dakar, Senegal.
The Heads of State expressed concern over the escalating number of conflicts related to nomadic practice- referred to as transhumance, which may constitute a new threat to regional security in several member states, particularly, in Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria.
The 49th Ordinary Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) convened in Senegal on June 4, 2016.
The ECOWAS leaders commended the national initiatives aimed at addressing transhumance issues and welcomed the establishment of a Ministerial Task Force for lasting solutions.
According to a communiqué issued at the end of the Summit, the Heads of State and Government instructed the Commission to convene a sub-regional meeting to share experiences on the transhumance issues and assist the Member States in creating awareness on the issue.
They urged the Commission to set up a working group comprising relevant directorates in order to exchange with Member States’ Ministries of Livestock, Agriculture, Environment, Interior and Defence to put forward recommendations aiming at finding a lasting solution to the problem.
At the meeting, which was attended by President John Mahama, the Authority urged all Member States , scheduled to hold elections this year, namely, Ghana, Cape Verde, and The Gambia, “to create a propitious environment for the conduct of peaceful, free and transparent elections.”
The Heads of State invited the Commission to deploy in these three countries, pre-election technical missions to assess together with all stakeholders, the preparations for the elections, in addition to the election observation missions, which would pave the way for the arrival of the ECOWAS observation missions.
The Authority reiterated its total commitment to the on-going integration process as a collective response to the region’s development challenges and undertook to continue its determined efforts in political, economic as well as institutional areas, to address all challenges to the deepening of the process.
The summit called on Member States to take ownership of and to implement, all Protocols and Community Acts and, in particular, the Community Levy Protocols, in order to fast-track the integration process.
The Authority urged States to persevere in their efforts to build more resilient economies, particularly, through the pursuit of structural reforms, sound macroeconomic policies and the diversification of their economies, to ensure compliance with the road map for the adoption of the single currency.
In order to expedite the implementation of Community programmes, the Summit decided to convene a high-level Conference on innovative financing and a Donors’ Roundtable for the funding of the Community Development Programme (CDP) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, before the end of 2016.
Within this framework, the Authority has directed the Commission to take the necessary measures, in close collaboration with the Ivorian authorities, to ensure that the two events were successfully conducted.
The Authority welcomed the lifting of the embargo on arms and on other related materials imposed against Ivory Coast owing, among other things, to the successful implementation of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programmes and security reforms in the country.
The Summit adopted the ECOWAS Political Framework for Security Sector Reform and Governance and directed the Commission to take advantage of the expertise and experience available in Member States of the region, particularly in Ivory Coast and Liberia, which have successfully carried out security sector reforms.
<<Print>>