From: wsargeant@igc.apc.org (Winslow L. Sargeant)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: IPS:ECOWAS, long way to go regional
Date: 22 Jul 92 15:37:23 GMT

/* Written 12:03 am  Jul 22, 1992 by newsdesk in cdp:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "ECOWAS: LONG WAY TO GO TO REGIONAL " ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: ECOWAS: LONG WAY TO GO TO REGIONAL INTEGRATION


an inter press service feature

by toye olori

badagry, nigeria, jul 18 (ips) -- it is the crossborder
traders' tales of petty harassment at the hands of
officialdom that is the gauge of the failure of the
16-member economic community of west african states (ecowas)
implementation of its goal of regional integration.

''we do legitimate business going to buy and sell goods
in togo and benin republics but the securitymen along the road
harass us like we are dealing in contraband'', olugbenga kassim
complained to ips.

kassim, a nigerian itinerant trader and his colleagues,
returning from togo on business, were having their vehicle
searched at the ijanikin checkpoint, 45 kms from lagos.

he said that the constant ''security'' hassles were driving
traders away from the west coast route despite the ecowas treaty
on the free movement of people and goods in the region.

the ijanikin check point, manned by armed soldiers, police,
customs and immigration officers, is just one of many dotted
along the 4,767 kms trans-coastal highway which runs from lagos
to nouakchott, mauritania.

''i have travelled several times on this route while on
official assignment and things have not changed since the
signing of the (ecowas) treaty about two years ago'', sonny
okonkwo, a journalist, explained.

''people get harassed in every country along the route but it
is minimal in the french-speaking countries, where the
commercial vehicle drivers only show their licence but with
'kolanut' (bribe) in the booklet''.

he noted that vehicles sometimes spend upwards of 30 minutes
on the ghanian and nigerian checkpoints while officials and
drivers haggle over how much to pay in duty or bribes for
whatever goods the traders carry.

at the motor parks, commercial vehicle drivers on the west
coast route charge travellers and traders extra, depending on
the amount and value of the goods they are carrying which is
then used to ''settle'' border officials while the passengers
wait in the vehicles.

sometimes the traders have to settle the customsmen
themselves if they carry rice or petroleum products, the
exportation of which is banned in nigeria. (more/ips)


ecowas: long (2)

ahead of the ecowas summit on jul.24 in dakar, senegal, a
secretariat document notes that road blocks and incessant checks
along west african highways, as well as unauthorised levies
imposed on community citizens at frontiers continue to militate
against the success of the organisation's programmes.

ecowas, formed in 1976, has progressed at a snail's pace
towards regional integration. the original treaty contains a
commitment to abolish all obstacles to the free movement of
people, goods and capital, and the harmonisation of common
policies in agriculture, transport, communication and industry.

''there are so many obstacles to trade in west africa, one
of which is the increasing number of checkpoints along the
trans-coastal highway. these are impediments in successfully
realising the objectives of the trade liberalisation
scheme'', says abass bundu, executive secretary of ecowas.

there is still no uniform acceptance and progress on many of
the treaties that the secretariat has initiated, particularly in
the area of trade liberalisation and the elimination of tarrifs.

''there are at present 90 approved industrial products under
the trade liberalisation scheme while applications for 40
additional products are with the ecowas secretariat and will be
submitted for approval by the council at the dakar summit'',
according to bundu.

he admits that not a single product has been traded
officially under the scheme due to a number of problems,
including the refusal by some member states to print or issue
the necessary customs documents and the lack of awareness by
local officials on the ground.

the lack of a common currency has also been a handicap in
intra-regional trade. ecowas has long affirmed the introduction
of a single currency and monetary zone by the year 2000.

bundu, whose term as executive secretary expires in
december, is optimistic that it will be achieved but notes that
a number of issues must be addressed first.

''we need to see how best we can bring about a convergence
of monetary policy and currencies of member states so that they
pursue a common policy. it is when you have a common policy that
you can build a common monetary zone and a common currency'', he
explains.

ecowas members are: benin, burkina faso, cape verde, cote
d'ivoire, the gambia, ghana, guinea, guinea-bissau, liberia,
mali, mauritania, niger, nigeria, senegal, sierra leone and
togo. (end/ips/to/oa/92)