Africa in Focus Show: ecowas treaty

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Wednesday, July 27, 2016

COMING UP!>>Ep.83 -- Season 4 FINALE: Demystifying the Ecowas Treaty(revd) of 1993 with ex-ECOWAS Frank Ofei

Episode #83

(Season 4; Ep.18):

Demystifying the Ecowas Treaty(revd) of 1993 with ex-ECOWAS Frank Ofei

Season 4 is STILL on the theme of “making money for Africa”.

In the third edition for the month of July, we want to use the 23rd anniversary of the revised ECOWAS treaty of 1993 on 24 July to remind listeners about how far West Africa has gone in consolidating its integration.

It is arguable that, the Treaty is the closest the sub-region has come to a constitution for West Africa.

If that is true, then what does that say about the aspirations of ECOWAS to create a West African civil service that can adequately-cater to citizens of West Africa?

In this edition, we want to help Mr.Ofei unpack and demystify the ECOWAS Charter.

Who better than the person who has intimate knowledge of what is considered by former UN Economic Commission for Africa Professor Jeghan Senghor as the "bible" for West Africa's integration.

Join us if you can at 14h05 on Wednesday 27 July, 2016

Call us on the following number

+233(302)777.173

Guiding questions

How relevant is the Ecowas Treaty of 1993 in the 21st century?
Does it still respond to the realities of the time in West Africa?
How does it speak to West Africa's integration?

Guest in the studio

➢ Mr. Frank Ofei, former ECOWAS staff

***********************
*more details will be available soon on www.africainfocusradioshow.org ; africainfocusshow.blogspot.com.

*Follow the conversations on #AfricainFocus on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/africainfocus14.

*Tweet Emmanuel ahead of time on www.twitter.com/ekbensah, using #africainfocus.

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Call Radio XYZ93.1FM on +233(302)777.173

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

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

Friday, March 20, 2015

PODCAST>>Episode 35: Talking Points around #ECOWAS@40 >> (2): Who should be the beneficiaries of ECOWAS integration?

EPISODE #35
Research & Co-ordination: E.K.Bensah Jr
Executive Producer: E.K.Bensah Jr

"Dear friends,

We used the thirty-fifth edition of the Africa in Focus show to discuss some of the challenges associated with West Africa's integration, which seems to oblivious to the plight of consumers in the sub-region. Equally absent is the synergy between West Africa's policymakers and the youth, who remain important stakeholders in ECOWAS' integration project.

Azeez Gomda offered a robust argument on where ECOWAS integration needs to go, with a focus on the revision of the ECOWAS Treaty of 1993 to reflect today's realities in West Africa; greater synergy between East and West Africa; and support for ECOWAS to have Missions in strategic countries to help promulgate the idea of West Africa's integration.

As usual, we had Kobby Blay of #EbolaWatch offer us an update of developments around Ebola.

Kindly find a link to download the podcast below:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1i3q3vcyhfbqe0w/AFRICA%20IN%20FOCUS%2010-3-15.mp3?dl=0

Kind regards,
Emmanuel

Monday, March 9, 2015

COMING UP!>>Ep.35: Talking Points around ECOWAS@40 (2): Who should be the beneficiaries of ECOWAS integration?

35th Edition:

Talking Points around ECOWAS@40 (2): Who should be the beneficiaries of ECOWAS integration?

In the second part of our “Talking Points around ECOWAS@40”, we want to use the 35^th edition of “Africa in Focus” to examine who the beneficiaries of ECOWAS ought to be.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration has finally launched the “ECOWAS@40” celebrations in what some of us believe to be a rather lukewarm manner. ECOWAS integration, in AIF’s view, is too important a milestone in the sub-region’s narrative of development for it to deserve such little attention, especially at a time when President Mahama is ECOWAS Chair.

For an administration that has aligned itself with the youth, it beggars belief that in all the ECOWAS meetings, the youth have yet to be invited to sit as observers at any of the ECOWAS meetings that have been held in Ghana. One can only hope that in the spirit of the 2009-call by East African youth to have a seat at the East African Community Parliament (EALA), West African youth will follow same and get active on a similar call. It is for this reason we will speak to the Public & Media Relations Officer of the Ghana Youth Integrity Initiative to speak to us what ECOWAS can do better—specifically under Mahama’s tenure as ECOWAS Chair and—generally as a well-respected regional economic community with experience in peace and security to transcend that imperative and ensure ECOWAS properly-benefits future generations.

Also on the line will be George Ofori, President of GUTA, who is well-known for what some may call altercations between GUTA and its Nigerian counterpart in the Ashanti capital Kumasi. Although ECOWAS protocols mean that Nigerians are able to work in Ghana, and therefore his attempts to get Nigerian traders to leave the retail sector were illegal under the ECOWAS treaty, the revision of the GIPC law in July 2013 (revising minimum capital of foreigners wishing to do business in Ghana from US$300,000 to US$1m either in cash or goods) means that Ghanaians are protected from an influx of foreigners in the retail sector – including ECOWAS Community Citizens.

Finally, we will speak to Appiah Adoamoko to offer us key insights into consumer-led West African integration, and why ECOWAS citizens need to start making greater demands as consumers of an emerging West African Common Market.

Join us if you can at 1pm on 10 March, 2015.

Guiding questions

Is there anything to benefit at all from West African integration under ECOWAS?
Is there sufficient attention paid to West African consumers?
Given that the youth represent 60 percent of the continent’s demographic, what does ECOWAS need to do to better-integrate youth views in the way East African Community does with Youth observers?
How do we reconcile protecting ECOWAS Community Citizens from influx of foreigners with ECOWAS free movement protocols when our national investment laws make no distinction between ECOWAS Community Citizens and “foreigners”?

Guests in the studio:

Ø Appiah Adoamoko, Coordinator, CUTS-Accra

Ø Aziz Gomda, Public & Media Relations Officer, Ghana Youth Integrity Initiative

On the line:

· Kobby Blay, EbolaWatch @13h30

· George Ofori, Ghana Union Traders Association(GUTA) @14h10

Monday, January 19, 2015

Coming Up on 29th Edition: >> Talking points around Ecowas@40(1)

29^th Edition:

Perspective Retrospective 2: Review of the Year 2014 – Health, & Tourism

We are reprising the issue of review in the 29^th edition of AIF.

We will, once again, be speaking to people who can help us offer a retrospective of the year on some of the biggest stories AIF show covered. Apart from aviation, the second biggest was Tourism, and Ebola. But we also want to pitch the issue of Ebola against that of AIDS, which may have gone under-reported because of the very-existential threat of Ebola.

If you will recall, health, especially that of Ebola, was a major talking point on AIF as Radio XYZ blazed the trail back in August 2014 on regular weekly discussions of Ebola under Africa in Focus.

Join us if you can at 1pm on 20 January, 2015.