Ghana Defaults In ECOWAS Dues

Ghana has defaulted in the payment of her ECOWAS community levy for the past eight months. A highly placed source at Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) who disclosed this to The Mail newspaper said, �This is the first time we are having this problem with Ghana. In the past there wasn�t a month that Ghana would owe the community.� Article 77 of the ECOWAS treaty states that, �where a Member State fails to fulfill its obligations to the Community, the Authority may decide to impose sanctions on that Member State.� These sanctions may include suspension of new Community Loans or assistance, suspension of disbursement to ongoing Community projects or assistance programmes, exclusion from presenting candidates for statutory and professional posts, suspension of voting rights, and suspension from participating in the activities of the Community. Though the source did not disclose any reasons given by the Ghana Government, another source at the presidency confided to The Mail that, �There is not much in our coffers.� The source said since the assumption of power by the Mills administration, there has not been cash coming, though we have received lots of promises. According to ECOWAS regulations, the Community levy shall be a percentage of the total value of import duty derivable from goods and imported into the Community from third countries. �The regular budgets of the Community and its institutions shall be funded from a Community levy and such other sources as may be determined by the Council,� Article 70 of the ECOWAS treaty states. Ghana is part of the 15-member states that constitute the ECOWAS. From 1975, since it was constituted, Ghana has enjoyed prominent roles in ECOWAS. Messrs Rawlings and Kufuor, past Ghanaian heads of state, have been chaired ECOWAS; Rawlings from1994-1995 and Kufuor from 2003 to 2005. From 2002 till now, Dr. Ibn Chambas has been the executive secretary of the Community.