By Amin Kef Sesay
The ECOWAS Parliament has on Tuesday 23rd March commenced its 5th Legislature of Parliamentary Seminar (2021) on the theme “Involvement of Members of the ECOWAS Parliament in Monitoring the Implementation of the Protocol Relating to the Community Levy”. The auspicious opening session took place at the Bintumani Conference Center in Freetown on the 23rd March 2021 and will last till the 25th of March 2021 followed by the 1st Parliamentary Session 2021 scheduled to start on the 29th March 2021 and will end on the 2nd April, 2021.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, President of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hon. Sidi Mohamed Tunis, noted that this is the very first activity that brings together in person all Members of the ECOWAS Parliament, a year after the installation of the Fifth Legislature in March 2020, adding that this situation is clearly attributable to the emergence of the unexpected insidious COVID-19 Pandemic.
He extended his cordial greetings to all and welcomed every one of them to Freetown underscoring how Sierra Leone is pleased to welcome all to its territory on the occasion of this Parliamentary Seminar which precedes the holding of the ECOWAS Parliament’s First Extraordinary Session for the year 2021.
Hon. Sidi Mohamed Tunis noted that the theme of the Seminar borders on the implementation of the Protocol relating to the Community Levy.
In that regard, he highlighted that the Community Levy is a mechanism set up by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government and has been operational since 2003 and that it is meant to mobilize the funds required for the accomplishment of the missions of the common organization.
Hon. Sidi Mohamed Tunis added that this 0.5% levy, imposed on goods from non-ECOWAS Member States, is intended to cater for around 80% of the Community’s budget revenue, furthering that sadly they are witnessing a low mobilization of the said resources which has been around 30% of forecasts over the past three years.
The ECOWAS President revealed that the Seminar therefore forms part of the continuation of Parliament’s efforts to make a significant contribution to the resolution of that priority challenge.
He said it, therefore, offers all of them the opportunity to make relevant and innovative proposals and thus provide the full complement of the effectiveness of parliamentary action.
Speaker of Sierra Leone Parliament, Hon. Dr. Abass Chernor Bundu, said he is equally captivated by the theme of the Seminar, namely the “Involvement of Members of the ECOWAS Parliament in Monitoring the Application of the Protocol relating to the Community Levy”, adding that he was also at the center of the process of galvanizing support, both intellectual and political, for introducing a Community Levy as the only enduring solution to addressing the acute and perpetual challenges the Community then faced about financing its activities; challenges that had become perennial since the very inception of the Community in 1975.
He also stated that the Levy was a percentage of the total value of import duty derivable from goods imported into the Community from third countries but the actual level of the Community Levy was left to be determined by the Council of Ministers.
Commissioner for Finance of ECOWAS, Halima Ahmed, said on the issue of community levy, she is overjoyed by such a move as it touches on one of the most important preoccupations of their department.
She continued that the Commission is grateful to the members of the ECOWAS Parliament for the positive disposition towards their involvement in the mobilization of the community levy.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Nabeela Tunis, expressed profound appreciation for choosing Freetown as the venue for this 1st Seminar, adding that though they tend to muse over the debilitating effects of COVID-19 on economies and livelihoods, the fact that this ECOWAS Parliamentary Seminar is convened, in-person, in Freetown, is a testament to the tremendous strides that they have made as a regional bloc towards a strong recovery.
Nabeela Tunis informed the gathering that the Government of Sierra Leone provided 17 acres of land for the establishment of a Peace Support Operations Logistics Depot at Lungi which is still in progress and is at an advanced stage in establishing the early warning center, signed a joint aid memoire for the construction of the University of Science and Technology in Kono among others.
“More importantly, Sierra Leone has consistently complied with the Community Levy Protocol including the payment of arrears since 2019,” she stated.
The Minister of Finance of Sierra Leone, Jacob Jusu Saffa, noted that the ECOWAS Community Levy was established under Article (2) of the Revised Treaty to replace the contribution system that had been in place for ECOWAS Member States, adding that since the start of the effective implementation of the Community Levy, Member States were no longer obliged to pay annual membership subscriptions.
The Minister stated that accordingly ECOWAS Member States agreed to levy a tax of 0.5 percent on imported goods emanating from Non-ECOWAS Member countries to raise the additional finance for the implementation of projects and programmes as well as funding for the ECOWAS Commission and community institutions.
