By Morlai Sesay
At the opening Seminar of the 5th Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament staged at the Freetown International Conference Center, Bintumani, President Julius Maada Bio lavished praises on the 5th Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament under the able leadership of the Speaker, Rt Hon. Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis, for his outstanding accomplishments which remain unprecedented and unmatched in the history of the ECOWAS Parliament. President Bio confessed that Sierra Leone is proud of the ECOWAS Speaker for his strides and commended him for being a worthy ambassador for Sierra Leone and the ECOWAS Regional.
In his keynote address, His Excellency President Julius Bio, who doubled as Master of Ceremony, maintained that the theme of the seminar is timely as the scourge of illegal mining has negatively impacted peace, stability, security, development, governance, the rule of law, the environment, and the economy in the sub-region. President Bio encouraged Honourable Members of the ECOWAS Parliament to continue working together to advance strong legal and regulatory frameworks for combating the alarming scourge.
He noted, “I extend my profound appreciation to the ECOWAS Parliament for its steadfast role in strengthening the democratic process and good governance in the subregion and, most especially, Sierra Leone. "
“I receive the 5th Legislature’s Outstanding Commitment Award for inspirational leadership in the ECOWAS Community with immense pride and a renewed vision to support the Community’s integration and development objectives as articulated in the ECOWAS vision for 2050.
I urged you all to lend your voice to the advancement of the sub-region, even when the 5th Legislature of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament ends in less than two months,” he maintained.
Speaking on the successes of the ECOWAS parliament in the last four years, the result-oriented speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Honourable Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis, recounted that in his inaugural address in March 2020, he listed several objectives that he intended to achieve through a four-year strategic plan. According to him, those objectives include Promoting cordial relations with the other institutions of the Community, Continuing with the efforts to maintain peace in the region, Deploying missions to observe elections, Paying particular attention to the budgeting of projects and programs, and improving transparency and accountability; To Contribute to the establishment of community standards and the formulation of policies; To bring the ECOWAS Parliament closer to the people; To in still accountability and transparency in the Parliament’s operations; To initiate reflection and awareness-raising for the election of Members of Parliament by direct universal suffrage; To institute administrative reforms and strengthen the human resource capacity of Parliament;
And to address all the significant issues of concern to the community, namely migration, the free movement of people and goods, access to energy, food security, and the employability of young people and women. The Parliament, he said, achieved significant success in the objectives mentioned above.
In line with its vision and strategic plan, the Parliament, he disclosed, was able to exercise its prerogatives in accordance with the Supplementary Act and
Carry out its mandate effectively. Despite the challenging context the region finds itself in, the Parliament was also able to hold almost all its statutory meetings of the legislature, namely seven (7) ordinary sessions and eight (8) extraordinary sessions.
He noted that he is pleased to say that the fifth ECOWAS Parliament had been fruitful and successful in legislative work. According to Tunis, the intense activity in which each Member has participated with interest has enabled the ECOWAS parliament to examine and issue opinions on 83 draft Community acts and adopted 94 resolutions. These resolutions, he said, concern both the Community's institutional arrangements and all areas relating to ECOWAS's economic and monetary integration policies, including trade, customs, free movement of persons, goods and services, infrastructure, monetary cooperation, industry and mining, and investment promotion.
The eloquent speaker stated that they are convinced that implementing these acts will contribute to a more prosperous future for the people of West Africa and strengthen cooperation, regional solidarity, and sustainable economic development.
He explained that the other area that guided the ECOWAS's actions during this legislature was monitoring sectoral activities. The Members have widely used this prerogative. Consequently, numerous oversight and monitoring missions were carried out throughout the region to ascertain the conduct and progress of Community projects and programs in education, health, infrastructure, energy, agriculture, free movement of persons and goods, etc.
"In the same vein, the various heads of the ECOWAS specialized agencies were invited to Parliament to enlighten Members on the progress or delays noted in the operational conduct of specific projects and programs. Regarding bringing the Parliament closer to the people, I assured the citizens of West Africa that the Fifth Legislature was committed to being more open to them. The Parliament, therefore, endeavored to create the conditions for its openness to society by holding eight extraordinary sessions, eight seminars, and 14 meetings of its Joint Committees away from its headquarters and in almost all the Member States. Admittedly, the primary aim of these delocalized meetings was to deliberate on important issues and strengthen the Parliament's capacity to contribute to the Community's decision-making processes. Above all, they have increased the visibility of the Community Parliament because they have allowed us to communicate with the people and discuss their daily lives and deepest aspirations with them. The Fifth Legislature was also deeply involved in adopting the Community Budget, conducted several fact-finding missions, and took part in 19 election observation missions in 14 ECOWAS Member States," he disclosed.
The excitement of the successes or achievements, he said, could distract the commission from some standing challenges, noting the Fifth Legislature, which also experienced its share of regional dynamics at the institutional, economic, social, political, and security levels. He affirmed that the COVID-19 Pandemic, the high cost of living resulting from the global economic downturn, the re-emergence of military takeovers, and the unfortunate suspension of four Member States greatly impacted the overall success of the ECOWAS Parliament.
"We humbly acknowledge these challenges and other unfinished businesses that would be passed on to the next Legislature. Paramount amongst these are the sad reality of having Four Member States Delegations suspended, the inability to have Members of the ECOWAS Parliament elected by direct universal suffrage, and not being able to inaugurate the ECOWAS Youth Parliament. We are, however, very optimistic that with the level of awareness created and promises of support from stakeholders regarding these issues, each one of them will be achieved soon. As the saying goes, the work of a Parliament can never be exhausted. Hence, the next Legislature will be expected to continue from where we will stop", affirmed the ECOWAS speaker.
In her opening remarks, the head of the Sierra Leonean Delegation to ECOWAS Parliament, Honourable Veronica Kaide Sesay, first of all, thanked the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for kindly choosing Freetown as the ultimate destination for this landmark seminar. Commenting on the theme of the auspicious occasion, she narrated the significant threat that illegal mining could pose to economic and sustainable development in West Africa. The Western Region of Africa, she stated, is overwhelmed with a sharp increase in illicit mining, posing a serious challenge to economic growth, revenue mobilization, environmental management, security, and safety of residents in the Region.
Madam Sesay stressed that it is unfortunate despite the continent's huge mining potential, Africa continues to endure challenges to muster desperately needed revenue. Rogue miners, she asserted, connive with locals and indulge in illicit extraction of the continent's mineral deposit, using very crude and dangerous methods, thereby undermining government policies.
Sesay expressed that "the negative ramifications are not only limited to stifling revenue acquisitions, but also environmental degradation that exposes the residents to health hazards and impedes other livelihood activities. Deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution, flooding, and reduced farming opportunities are only a few implications of unregulated mining. They bribe individuals into accepting the acts for the immediate direct benefits they bring to them to the detriment of national growth.
As the session delves into identifying the scope, actors, and adverse effects of illegal mining, the Honourable expressed her fervent hope that ECOWAS would establish strategies to combat it. She furthered that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) parliament would be able to introduce regulatory instruments to enforce regulations and build institutional capacity to curtail illegal mining activities and promote responsible mining practices.
She assured, " Mr. Speaker, Honourable members, let me assure you of my government and parliament's commitment to provide support that you may need to facilitate your work in the next few days. "
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