Ecowas@40Podcast
– 10 March, 2015
Welcome to the 8th edition of the Ecowas@40Podcast,
where we give you insights into all that is ECOWAS.
The ECOWAS@40Podcast is divided into four parts.
We start off with an overview of what stories are trending under ECOWAS/West
Africa/the AU. We then move on to what ECOWAS and/or AU accounts are tweeting.
Third, we give listeners an ECOWAS Fact; and, finally, “What’s my ECOWAS Beef?”
where I offer candid views on a trending topic. In today’s edition, we are
looking at events the Show is involved in one may have missed.
The nettlesome issue of South Sudan is reprised
here in this Podcast for obvious reasons: there is lack of clarity around the
report, which now cites US, UK, & Norway as being responsible for the mess
that that country faces.
Let’s take a look at some of the tweets with the
highest RTs:
1.
148RTs – @UN: “Sometimes a woman’s greatest support
comes from the men in her life. A man in #SouthSudan talks about his mum
#IWD2015”
2.
132RTs – @RT_com: “African Union blames US, UK, Norway
for #SouthSudan civil war”
3.
49 RTS – @guardian: “Leaked African Union report notes
“ethnic cleansing” in #SouthSudan”
4.
28 RTs -- @Oxfam: “#SouthSudan 2.5 m people at risk of
sever hunger by month’s end, and no end in sight as peace process fails yet
again.”
5.
16 RTS -- @OXFAM: “#SouthSudan’s leaders must work to
reconcile communities who are in desperate need of healing…#peace”
On Mali:
1. 29RTS
-- @NewsHour: “In Mali, artists fight to save the country’s ancient cultural
treasures”
2. 28RTs
-- @NewsHour: “Musicians in Mali are raising their voices to call for peace as
extremists threaten a vibrant music culture…”
3. 7
RTS -- @UNMEER: “Border checkpoints like this one in #Mali are key to stopping
the spread of Ebola. #EbolaResponse”
4. 5RTs
– @FRANCE24: “Mali restaurant shooting
an “attack on the peace process”
5. 3RTs
-- @mashanubian: “Mali Counter-terrorism investigators arrived from Paris
overnight to aid hunt for the killers of five people, including a French
national.”
3.
WHAT ECOWAS
IS TWEETING:
Ecowas account on twitter now has
2 more followers from last week making it 41; it is STILL not following anyone
yet. It has tweeted 18 times since its first tweet on 10 February. The last
tweet was 3 days ago, when it tweeted “Today is the 58th anniversary
of the Republic of Ghana’s independence. Happy Independence Day!”, with a
pic…the inevitable flag of Ghana!
Let’s look at some of the
highest RTs under the #westAfrica:
1. 18RTS
-- @allafrica: “Africa gets a new superhero in Lagos” (Graphic novel; animated)
2. 10RTS
-- @allafrica: “Sierra Leone’s Vice President in Ebola Quarantine…#SierraLeone
#WestAfrica”
3. 6RTS
– @FHWCoalition: “#WestAfrica Costing Analysis…finds $573M in 5yrs to double
#healthworkforce + comprehensive #CHW program #Ebola”
4. 5RTS
– @OSIWA1 – “#WestAfrica: New #railway network aims to boost inter-regional
#trade”
5. 4RTs
– @WBG_Agriculture: “Ivory Coast aims to become the rice bowl of
#WestAfrica…cc:@AfricaRice”
6. 3RTs
– @EcobankResearch: “#CEMOI to launch EUR6mn #chocolate factory in #Abidjan in May…will
manufacture chocolate for export to #WestAfrica”
4. ECOWAS
FACT
1. It is the Revised ECOWAS Treaty of 1993
that enjoins supranationality over Member States. This means that ECOWAS has
what is called a legal international legal personality, meaning it has rights
and obligations under international law;
2. The Revised Treaty is 42 pages, and has
93 articles;
3. Article 72:
a. “There is hereby instituted a Community
levy for the purpose of generating resources for financing Community
activities.
b. The CL shall be the percentage of the
total value of import duty derivable from goods imported into the Community
from third countries.
c. The actual level of the CL shall be
determined by the Council
d. The conditions for the application of
the CL, the modalities for the transfer to the Community of the revenue
generated and the utilization of the Community levy shall be defined in the
relevant Protocol.
e. Member States undertake to facilitate
the application of the provisions of this Article.”
4. WHAT’s
MY ECOWAS BEEF?
Given Ghana has a momentous – and
auspicious -- opportunity under the ECOWAS Chairmanship to celebrate one of the
most vibrant regional economic communities on the continent, really, is this
the best it can do as far as celebrations are concerned? A press conference to
launch #ECOWAS@40 celebrations?
What
you missed!
The three-day Eighth Pan-African
Congress ended on 7 March with a call to hold a second phase of it in 2016 h
ere in Ghana, so as to prepare for a delegates Conference in Brazil, which
offered to host the 9th Congress in that country.
Speaking to a plenary on Day 2, avowed
and reputable Pan-Africanist Professor Horace Campbell revealed the imminent
establishment of a North American Reparations Commission. This is in the spirit
of efforts made by CARICOM countries’ call for reparations against the
trans-Atlantic slave trade. CARICOM is a region AU member States can learn a
lot from on advocacy on reparations.
One of the key outcomes of PAC8’s work
is the establishment of the Network of Pan-African Communicators to prosecute
the agenda of Pan-Africanism, and the century-long work of Africans. AIF is one
of the founding members of the Network, which include seasoned journalists like
George Koomson and Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng. We already have established a list-serve and whatsapp group.
ENDs
