PODCAST:>>Ep.43: SPECIAL: Talking Points around #ECOWAS@40(4): One-on-one with former ECOWAS Official Frank Ofei

EPISODE #43
Research & Co-ordination: E.K.Bensah Jr
Executive Producer: E.K.Bensah Jr
Technical  Producer: D.J. Stagger

Dear friends, 

In ep.43 of #AfricainFocusShow, we did something a little different around the "Talking Points around #Ecowas@40.

We had a one-on-one with former Ecowas official Frank Ofei on aspects of Ecowas' integration, which was timely as the 47th Ordinary Session of Ecowas was underway here in Accra.

 It was also timely because Ecowas turned 40 on 28 May!

 The difference for 19 May's edition was that, given how some of us have been studying and monitoring Ecowas for a decade-plus, & calling for it to be more accountable to the average ECOWAS Community citizen, it was important to also include a small appreciation of the theory of regional integration so listeners appreciate how powerful this Ecowas bloc is when pitted against the larger global context.

ECOWAS obviously turned 40 on 28 May, but what does ECOWAS need to quickly do over the next ten years to ensure it remains relevant and meaningful for its citizens?

We also used the show to briefly touch on how ECOWAS sits in the grand scheme of regional integration theories, such as neo-functionalism, which sees member states of a grouping cooperating; collaborating on specific projects (such as Liberian intervention by Nigerian-led ECOMOG in 1989) to such an extent that it spills over to cooperating on other projects in the furtherance of integration.

To speak to these, and many more questions, we had a very important discussion with former ECOWAS official Frank Ofei.

Guiding questions

• ·        There’s a crisis brewing in Burundi. In the absence of a Peace & Security Architecture comparable to ECOWAS’ what lessons can that region learn from ECOWAS to inform how they manage the crisis?
• ·        ECOWAS’ free movement has meant that more than 70pct of the migrants have originated from the sub-region. How has ECOWAS been actively seized on the migrant crisis, given its collaboration with Spain since 2008?
• ·        How have #ECOWAS40 celebrations been so far throughout the sub-region, and what is your assessment of how other ECOWAS Day celebrations have been? How, for example, was #ECOWAS30 celebrations?
• ·        What are some of the economic integration-related issues we need to look out for from the ECOWAS Summit underway?
• ·        Is it not time for the revised 1993 ECOWAS Treaty to be revised to reflect realities; structures; and institutions of 2015?
  

Kindly find a link to download the podcast below, and enjoy "Africa in Focus" Show's episode#43:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ycdjikgm5hbb16l/AFRICAN%20IN%20FOCUS%2019-05-2015.mp3?dl=0

Just in case you missed it: "Africa in Focus Show" is the ONLY weekly magazine on Ghanaian radio explaining; unpacking; demystifying ECOWAS; AU; and South-South cooperation policies around Africa's integration. We are airborne every Tuesday from 13h00 to 15h00 GMT. All podcasts are available for download on www.africainfocusradioshow.org  Follow the conversation using #AfricainFocus

Kind regards,
Emmanuel


www.africainfocusradioshow.org
www.twitter.com/africainfocus14
www.twitter.com/eastafricarisng

Five-day Regional Workshop for Parliamentary Staff of Ghana; Gambia; Nigeria; & ECOWAS Opens in Accra

Gilbert Atta-Boakye, Facilitator

Accra, Ghana – In an attempt to redefine work ethics across the sub-region, a five-day workshop to enhance the performance of parliamentary administrators and technical staff by equipping them with requisite skills to adopt Resource-Based Management (RBM) practices has opened in Accra.

In a statement read on behalf of the Director-General of the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS), Dr.Ladi Hamalai, at the workshop, the DG explained there was a “need for parliaments to be more accountable for their performance than ever before.” It was therefore imperative to adopt “coherent approaches that join up performance monitoring at micro and macro level for value maximization.”

The statement added the topic for the workshop is “apt particularly given that democracies are premised on the idea that citizens can hold their leaders accountable.” Dr.Hamalai further enjoined participants to apply the new skills they would acquire in setting defined goals, track and measure performance indicators.”

The Director of Operations of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) Dr.Coffi Nouman said “Parliaments do not only provide avenues for citizen’s participation in decision-making process, but ensure effective and efficient financial governance, hence the need to make parliamentary institutions strong, vibrant & result-driven.”

On his part, the representative of the Secretary-General of ECOWAS Parliament Amuta J Onogwu averred the workshop will “sharpen administrative and technical skills of legislative staff.”

The workshop covers discussion on a wide range of issues, including: Introduction to Results-Based Management Concepts and trends; understanding the general concepts of management approaches, specific indicators, development and use of results frameworks for Parliaments and results-Based Management and Parliamentary Results Chain.

The workshop is organized by the National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS), which is the foremost, effective and credible regional institution with counterpart funding from the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). In the last four years, it has remained committed to scaling up legislative capacity development and deepening institutional memory of West African legislature.

               

Emmanuel.K.Bensah/Africa in Focus Show/National Institute for Legislative Studies National Assembly

ENDs

COMING UP!!>>Ep.49: Mixed Bag#2: Outcome of Third Financing for Development Conference; AU Youth Impact Africa Awards

Episode #49:

Mixed Bag#2: Outcome of Third Financing for Development Conference; AU Youth Impact Africa Awards

We want to use ep.49 to look at two major issues: that of the outcome of the Third International Financing for Development and rewarding youth in Africa for works done.

We will be speaking to Raymond Abloh, founder & President of Raymond Ablorh Foundation (RAF), who has spearheaded the AU Youth Impact Africa Awards Scheme. Designed to regulary-recommend and motivate Africa’s youth and their works, Ablorh has a vision of a continent that acknowledges the contributions of her youth towards the actualization of her dreams.

Ablohrh will be telling us about the genesis of these awards, and how he plans to actualize the vision of the awards programme.

Call us on the following numbers when we open the phone lines at 14h30 GMT

+233(0)289.000.931 // +233(0)289.931.000

Join us if you can at 1pm on 21 July, 2015.

Guiding questions

·       What are the major outcomes of the Third FfD Conference just-ended in Addis? What are the take-home issues?

·       What is the value-add of the AU Youth Impact Africa Awards in a system that already has many options for the youth?

Guests in the studio:

Ø  Raymond Ablorh, Founder/President of Raymond Ablorh Foundation

Ø  Bernard Anaba, ISODEC

Guests on the line:

Ø  Patrick Fynn, Public Relations Officer, National Health Students Association of Ghana @13h20


Just in case you missed it: 

"Africa in Focus Show" is the ONLY weekly magazine on Ghanaian radio explaining; unpacking; demystifying ECOWAS; AU; and South-South cooperation policies around Africa's integration. We are airborne every Tuesday from 13h00 to 15h00 GMT. 

All podcasts are available for download on www.africainfocusradioshow.org  

Follow the conversation using #AfricainFocus on Google+ and twitter

listen to AIF live: www.radioxyzonline.com/listenlive

COMING UP!>>Episode #48: Mixed Bag: Updates on Financing for Development; Freedom of Information

Episode #48:

Mixed Bag: Updates on Financing for Development (#Ffd3); Freedom of Information

We want to use ep.48 to look at two major issues: that of the Freedom of Information, which Bill Ghana’s Parliament will be considering soon. We will be speaking to Mina Mensah of the RTI Coalition to tell listeners what the Coalition has been working on off-late, including the recent UNESCO-RTI Coalition Project looking at the gender dimensions of access to information.

Secondly, we will be speaking to ISODEC & Christian Aid to update us on what is perhaps one of the most important conferences of our time – the Third International Financing for Development Conference – that offers a momentous opportunity to follow up on commitments to financing global international development.  

Call us on the following numbers when we open the phone lines at 14h30 GMT

+233(0)289.000.931 // +233(0)289.931.000

Join us if you can at 1pm on 14 July, 2015.

Guiding questions

• ·       Why should Africa care about another Financing for Development Conference?
• ·       Are the UN agencies & Africa hamstrung by the EU & US on FFD3?
• ·       How important is the discussion on illicit financial flows in the context of FFD3?
• ·       How close is the Ghana’s Parliament to signing the Right to Information Bill into law?
• ·       What are some of the key challenges that need working on?
• ·       Does the RTI Coalition advocacy have the adequate oxygen of publicity it needs to get the passage of the Bill through?

Guests in the studio:

Ø  Mina Mensah, Right to Information Coalition

Ø  Bernard Anaba, ISODEC

Guests on the line:

Ø  Joyce Opoku-Boateng, NIMBUS Foundation @13h20

Ø  Chibeze Ezekiel, Christian Aid @14h15

COMING UP!>>Episode 47: Revisiting Climate Change: Ghana’s Preparation Towards COP21!

 Episode #47:

Revisiting Climate Change: Ghana’s Preparation Towards COP21!

With just five months left to go before the Paris Climate Change negotiations in Paris, we want to use ep.47 of #AfricainFocusShow to speak to both civil society and government on the important steps that need to be considered before Paris.

A Guardian Paper report of 6 July states that in the EU Commissioner for Climate Action Miguel Canete’s opinion, there is “no plan B” if the Paris Climate Conference ends in failure.

The report maintains the Commissioner is deeply concerned by the lack of negotiating time remaining before the conference, which is supposed to offer sweeping new measures to help poor nations adapt to the ravages of global warming.

In Ghana, government has straddled the divide between adaptation and mitigation. What is its real position on climate change, especially now that Ghana has a National Climate Change Policy?

If COP21 is truly a make-or-break meeting, then a discussion like this is critical many months before, especially because 24 July is the deadline for when a draft text needs to be ready for discussion in Paris!

Call us on the following numbers when we open the phone lines at 14h30 GMT

+233(0)289.000.931 // +233(0)289.931.000

Join us if you can at 1pm on 7 July, 2015.

Guiding questions

·       Is Ghana ready for COP21(2015 Paris Climate Conference)?

·       What is clear picture by government on its preparations?

·       Mitigation or adaptation? What is government’s position?

·       How important is reforestation for government in the road to COP21?

Guests in the studio:

Ø  Kwame Mensah, KASA Secretariat

Ø  Yaw Kwakye, Head of Climate Change, Forestry Commission

Ø Dr.Emmanuel Tachie-Obeng, Principal Programme Officer, Environmental Protection Agency

Guests on the line:

Ø  Samuel Alovernu, WorldReader @13h20

Happy 55th Republic Day to Ghana!

HAPPY 55TH $REPUBLIC DAY, #GHANA! ● As a potential #Grexit weighs heavily on the minds of #Europe, will this small West African country, which was once the darling of the West for what some consider its successful prosecution of #IMF policies, begin to take cues from #Greece?

Further, as it goes down another round of IMF money, will Ghana consider how Grexit may inform Ghana's own locus in the West African integration dynamic of #ECOWAS when it's #paybacktime to the IMF? Will Ghana continue to overlook the regional space, including Ecowas Bank for Investment & Development, or will it experience the regional-panacea epiphany? #AFRICAINFOCUSSHOW

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