Coming Up on 30th Edition: >> Talking points around Ecowas@40(1)

30th Edition:  

Talking points around Ecowas@40(1)

We want to use the thirtieth edition of the Africa in Focus show to commence talking points around ECOWAS as it heads towards the celebration of its 40th anniversary

We will therefore be speaking to people who can help us offer a serious reflection on what Ecowas Community citizens ought to be thinking about as they equally reflect on how far ECOWAS has come.

To that end, we will speak to TWN-Africa’s Sylvester Bagooro who will speak to the issue of economic integration. That organisation’s efforts to stop Ghana signing the Economic Partnership Agreements may have fallen on deaf ears to the ECOWAS Chair, but efforts to stop its ratification are underway. As ECOWAS Member States enter 2015 with optimism that the Common External Tariff will inure to the benefit of the sub-region’s attempt at a Common Market, what are some of the challenges and red herrings the sub-region needs to look out for? 

As the AU’s Peace and Security Council endorsed a deal to support the Lake Chad Basin Commission countries of Cameroon; Chad; Nigeria; Niger and Benin to form a Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to rout and combat Boko Haram, we will be speaking to WANEP’s Alimou Diallo on the actual composition of the force, and what the sub-region should expect to see around ECOWAS’ peace and security efforts in 2015.

We shall thereafter speak to a retired ECOWAS Official Frank Ofei, instrumental for the revision of 1993 ECOWAS Treaty, to give us his expert views on what we really need to look out for around ECOWAS’s integration efforts – beyond peace and security. What are its successes, it failures; its potential to help uplift the sub-region to a prosperous West Africa?

Finally, we will speak to AU Commission Official Komla Bissi to offer us an insight into what is considered one of the AU’s most successful programmes – the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, which enjoins Member States dedicate 10 percent of their budget to agriculture. What are NEPAD Planning Commission Agency & the AU’s next steps for CAADP’s implementation?

Join us if you can at 1pm on 3 February, 2015.

Guests in the studio: 

Sylvester Bagooro, Programme Officer, Political Economy Unit, Third World Network-Africa

On the line:

Frank Ofei, retired Ecowas Official @13h20 

Alimou Diallo, West Africa Network on Peacebuilding(WANEP) @13h40

Komla Bissi, Senior Adviser, Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme(CAADP), African Union Commission @14h15

Kobby Blay, EbolaWatch @14h40

AFRICA IN FOCUS >> Coming up on 19 August, 2014: "Africa’s Aviation Sector: Challenges; Prospects; and the Future"

The State of the Africa’s Aviation Sector: Challenges; Prospects; and the Future

In talking about the aviation sector, it is possible to speculate that one has touched on a topic so esoteric and specialised that it requires the knowledge and passion of an expert to explain them. Truth be told, the more one reads, the more one realises that it is more of the same of the quintessential turf wars that populate the literature of the fight between the West and the Global South, especially Africa, for its own policy space.

Let's make no bones about this: we need neither a Western country; a UN agency; NEPAD; nor the AU to tell us about the critical importance of the aviation sector to Africa's development. The principal reason why any international body like the AU, NEPAD, or the UN might want to remind us is simply so Africans can take the bull by the horns and create their destiny about the “open skies” policy the Yamoussoukro Decision seeks to advocate.

There are no easy solutions to the challenge of facilitating an open-skies policy for Africa. This does not mean that we should not try to do something about it. There already exists the YD, which has been in operation since 2002. Other institutions, such as AFCAC, and Banjul Accord Group(linking 7 ECOWAS countries) exist to help resolve the challenge. Africa is fortunate to have organisations, such as AFRAA, that have transformed themselves into virtual advocacy organisations for the African airline industry. There is, however, more that can be done.

It is for this reason that we are using the 14^th edition of “Africa in Focus” to interrogate the aviation sector.

There are five major reasons why it is important to look at the sector. First are the perennially-expensive airline tickets. Second is the state of the YD. What are some of the experiences that those in the studio can attest to around its implementation? Third, what are some of the solutions towards resolving the expensive aviation fuel? Is the solution Joint-Fuel purchases? Fourth, how can consumers ever be shielded from the very-high taxes; charges; and fees on airline tickets so that consumers can finally pay for affordable tickets? Finally, in the light of the Ebola scare, how are airlines bracing themselves to respond to what seems like a long-term challenge for the aviation industry?

Guiding Questions to be answered:

·        What concrete measures are airlines taking to help bring down tickets?

·        How satisfied are the airlines operating here that the Yamassoukro Declaration is being implemented?

·        What is the state of play about aviation fuel? Are some airlines getting it cheaper elsewhere?

·        Taxes, Charges and Fees are the highest in West Africa. Is it a case of West African governments being insensitive to the necessity of airlines in contributing to Africa’s development?

·        With the onset of Ebola, how are airlines bracing themselves to respond to the crisis? What assurances are they giving their passengers?

·        What can our governments do better to help the aviation sector, beyond implementing the YD?

Guests in the studio:

Ø  William Afadzinu, Marketing Manager, ASKY Airlines

Ø  Anthony Sarfo, Marketing Manager--West & North Africa, Kenya Airways

Ø  Adewale Adeniran, Sales Manager, Arik Air

Tune in at 13h10 GMT (1:00pm Ghana Time). We’re also streaming live  www.radioxyzonline.com.

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