By Mark Longyen
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has called on Member States to enforce its existing protocols designed to ensure the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Dr Tony Elumelu of the ECOWAS Business Council Secretariat made the appeal at the ongoing delocalised meeting of the ECOWAS Parliament’s Joint Committee in Cotonou, Republic of Benin.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Joint Committee comprises those on Industry and Private Sector; Macroeconomic Policy; Economic Research; Administration, Finance, Budget, and Public Accounts.
Elumelu, in a presentation titled, “Trade Facilitation, Regulatory Reforms and Formalisation,” also canvassed the removal of all impediments to the growth of MSMEs by member states, as well as sanctions against culprits.
He noted that ECOWAS had already adopted very good policies, protocols and legal instruments for private sector development, and stressed the need to create an enabling environment for MSMEs to thrive.
“The formulation of new policies is not what MSMEs within the sub-region need presently, but it’s rather the creation of an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
“What we need to do is to enforce those policies that we have already adopted, and remove every bottleneck that impedes MSMEs from thriving.
“My recommendation is that we should implement what we have adopted and make sure that we create an enabling environment for these businesses to thrive, and not keep adopting policies,”he said.
Elumelu reminded participants that ECOWAS was in competition with other regions, and so must not disturb legitimate traders from other regions, in order to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The former ECOWAS Director, Private Sector, also identified the multiple checkpoints on the sub-region’s highways as serious impediments to the growth of MSMEs and regional economic development.
“We need to make sure that we have the necessary infrastructure that our goods will use in terms of moving from one country to another, we also need to look at the vision that we have signed for the AfCFTA protocol,” he added.
Also speaking, Dr Olalekan Afolabi, ECOWAS Principal Programme Officer, Enterprise and Business Promotion, called for the formalisation of the informal sector, which the MSMEs represent.
He underscored the need for the ECOWAS Parliament to beacon on regional leaders to implement already adopted policies toward ensuring the growth of MSMEs and ECOWAS development.
Afolabi noted that there were too many informal businesses across the sub-region, which ought to be formalised, and urged the ECOWAS parliament to prevail on regional leaders to ensure that this is done.
The Programme Officer also called for the implementation of the African Trade Competitive and Market Access Programme of the European Union, which is a 50 million Euro project.
“How do we implement the African Trade Competitive and Market Access Programme of the European Union, and some of the responses we give to them include going to the national level and seeing that these policies are properly domesticated?
“These policies are legislated at the national level and also coming to hold us accountable at the regional level, because we need to report periodically to the parliamentarians.
“They need to monitor the implementation of some of those projects and this forum, of course, presents an opportunity for things like this,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Sadiya Hamza