By Morlai Sesay
The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Rt. Hon. Dr Mohamed Sidie Tunis has urged the governments of Member States to immediately “investigate and find sustainable” solutions to the complex interplay of factors which have denied the region the benefits of its vast mineral resources, which are being illegally mined to the detriment of the States. “The threat of illegal mining in the ECOWAS region is having far-reaching implications on the security,
socio-economic and environmental fabric of the region,” the Speaker said at opening a three-day seminar organized by the Parliament on “Illegal mining and its implications in the ECOWAS Region.
Despite the potential of the mining sector to impact positively on the lives of the Community citizens, Speaker Tunis said that “the complex interplay of security, social-economic dividends, environmental impacts on the soil and waters have emerged as pressing concerns that demand immediate investigation and finding sustainable solutions.”
Citing the Community’s Vision 2050 document, he said that the mining sector has the potential to contribute 7.5% to Ghana’s GDP, 10.2% to the GDP of Burkina Faso, 4% to the GDP of Cote d’Ivoire, while Nigeria receives only 9% from the sector, with 80% of the mining in the country’s Northwest region is carried out illegally.
He therefore, called for the proper regulation of the sector with the expectation that this will make the sector more impactful on the economies of the
Member States, as illegal mining of the region’s precious minerals not only robs the region of much-needed revenue to grow their economies but has resulted in instances of instability through banditry, kidnapping, thuggery, and, in some cases, insurgency.
Furthermore, he explained that the leadership of the Parliament decided to dedicate the last parliamentary seminar of the fifth legislature to the mining sector in recognition of its value to the economies of the Member States.
This is with the expectation that at the end of the seminar, parliamentarians will have a greater appreciation of the regional mining frameworks and challenges to their implementation and make recommendations where regional collaboration can be fostered to boost the sector. Speaker Tunis, who is at the threshold of completing his four-year tenure, which also marks the end of the fifth legislature of the Parliament said the period was marked by ‘progressive and undisputed conduct of its duties in line with the pledge made during the legislature’s inauguration in 2020 in Niamey.
In his inaugural address in Niamey, the Speaker had announced a 10-point strategic plan for the fifth legislature, mainly the promotion of intra-community relations, maintenance of
peace; election observation; improving transparency and accountability in the Community’s budgeting process for programmes; establishing Community standards and formulating policies.
He also pledged to bring Parliament closer to the people, instill accountability and transparency in the operations of the Parliament; initiate reflection on the election of the parliamentarians by direct universal suffrage; institute administrative reforms for strengthening the human resource capacity of the Parliament and address issues of concern to the Community. The Speaker said at the event, which was graced by President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, that the fifth legislature has delivered on these commitments, manifested by the examination and issuance of opinions on 83 draft Community Acts and adoption of 93 Resolutions of Parliament.
Despite the complicated context in which the region finds itself, the Speaker said that Parliament could hold almost all its statutory meetings, namely seven ordinary and eight extra-ordinary sessions, including strengthening the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians.
Association (ECOFEPA) and establishing a regional network of legislative Journalists (AWALCO) as the Parliament’s press corps.
The fifth legislature was inaugurated on 9th March 2020 during its first sitting in Niamey by former President Issoufou Mahamadou of the Republic of Niger, during which the Speaker was elected, along with four other deputies, to consist of the Bureau of Parliament.
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