Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has stated that implementation of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) and the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), demands other equally important trade facilitation and Customs Instruments reforms to make the ECOWAS region a strong and economically competitive community.
He noted that these Trade and Customs Instruments are related to the regulation and automation of transit procedure in member states and the reforms and management of intra-community trade in “made-in-ECOWAS” goods.
According to him, the ECOWAS Community Levy was instituted on July 27, 1996 by Protocol A/P1/7/96 to replace the mechanism of annual financial contributions from member states, which was the main source of financing the institutions of the Community; adding that it entered into effective application in all ECOWAS member states on July 1, 2003.
According to him, following several years of implementation of this new financing mechanism, several shortcomings had emerged, in particular, the divergent interpretation of some of its provisions, which affected its effective implementation.
He noted that there was, therefore, the need to update the entire mechanism to accommodate changes in the institutional environment of ECOWAS and the international economic environment.
Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta said these in a speech read on his behalf by Abena Osei-Asare, Deputy Finance Minister-in-charge of Revenue at the Sixth Meeting of the Ministers of Finance of ECOWAS Member States on the Community Levy and the Consolidation of the ECOWAS Customs Union held in Accra.
The Minister indicated that to this end, a new draft Supplementary Act setting out the conditions, modalities of application, monitoring and management of the ECOWAS Community Levy was proposed for examination and validation by technical experts, Directors-General of Customs and Ministers of Finance of ECOWAS Member States.
He averred that additionally, the entry into force of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) on 1st January 2015 in the Member States following the Declaration of the Authority of Heads of State and Government at its 46th Ordinary Session held in Abuja on 15th of December, 2014, marked an important milestone in the establishment of a Customs union in the ECOWAS region.
This, he said, aligned with the provisions of Article 3 of the Revised ECOWAS Treaty on the establishment of a common market in the Community.
Dr Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, President, ECOWAS Commission, in a speech read on his behalf, said ECOWAS Member States need to establish a stronger economic space that allows for the diversification of production and reduction in the dependence on export of a few primary commodities to improve economic growth rates, create employment and raise living standards of the people.
Mr Irchad Razaaly, Head of European Union Delegation to Ghana, on behalf of the EU and other development partners in West Africa, assured ECOWAS of the EU’s readiness to deepen its cooperation with the region.
Mr Tei KONZI, ECOWAS Commissioner for Trade, Customs and Free Movement, appealed for heightened support for customs administration, which would have a better connection with neighbouring countries.
Mrs Abena Osei-Asare, Deputy Finance Minister-in-charge of Revenue, reiterated the need for ECOWAS Member States to maximize their revenue generation as they build back their economies after the devastating effects of COVID-19.
