ECOWAS Ministers Navigate Ways To Tackle Work Force Gap, Strengthen Solidarity.

By Ferdinand Olise

The President of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, said, with the sudden departure of large number of their workforce who are nationals of the three (3) countries, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, which exited from the Organisation, they are faced with the challenge of replacing them.

The Council Meeting which is in two folds is to discuss the allocation of statutory positions to member states, and also to discuss the recruitment and status of staff from AES Countries from Grade P4 and below, which are critical barometers for gauging our institutional credibility and an affirmation of our regional solidarity.

Speaking today in Abuja, at the extraordinary session of Council on Recruitment for ECOWAS Institutions, Dr Touray said the organization needs the Council’s guidance in the equitable distribution of the vacant positions among all the Member States, without sacrificing competence.

He said, “As our staff regulations did not provide any guidance on how to allocate vacant positions to specific member states for the purpose of achieving equity, it has become necessary for Council to provide its guidance on the way forward.

“We are therefore pleased to present to you a memorandum with proposals on how to achieve this equitable distribution of the positions and fast track the recruitment process.
In making these proposals, the Commission took into account the current staff distribution per member state, and the interest of those member states with poor representation in the current workforce of the institutions. Our goal is to achieve equity, ensure quality and consolidate on the solidarity which strengthens our Community.

“As management, we are committed to protecting the interests of each member states, whether their nationals are represented in the Management of the Institutions or not. We have taken an oath to serve the entire community and not our narrow national interests. We therefore look forward to your deliberations and guidance on this matter”, he said

According to him, the extraordinary Council is borne out of necessity, as they have in the last three years struggled to fill vacancies in the institutions using a staff regulation that constrains management’s ability to administratively expedite the process.

“It has therefore become necessary to refer to Council from time to time to help us untangle the web. We are very grateful to Council for the earlier waiver which enabled us to have shorter time frame for advertisements of vacant positions. With this, we have now published and received a sizeable number of applications.

“However, the challenge currently, is with the processing of these applications and the scheduling of interviews. These have been slower than the rate of staff attrition, due to aging workforce with an average annual loss of staff to retirement estimated at 13 personnel. The volume of applications is beyond the capacity of the recruitment firms in place, due to the largely manual method used in processing the applications.

Dr Touray added that he has directed the Internal Services Department to accelerate the deployment of e-recruitment system to fast track the processing of applications.

On his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Sierra Leone and Chair of Council, Alhaji Timothy Musa Kabba, said the Committee is constituted by over 70% of their membership which makes the decision of the Ad-hoc committee a fait accompli, as well as makes it compelling to review the procedures of the establishment of Ad-Hoc Committees.

“It is also important to note that members of the ad-hoc Committee would have reviewed the commission’s proposals on the statutory positions which will inform our deliberations on the presentation of the memorandum on proposals for the allocation of statutory positions to member states.

“As Chair of the Ministerial Council, with your support, I am pleased to be entrusted with the responsibility to provide political guidance, coordinate policy direction, and oversee the smooth functioning of the Community’s affairs”, he said.

He therefore commended the Community for its ongoing efforts to promote peace, stability, and economic development in West Africa.

“As Chair of the Authority, Sierra Leone reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the Community in advancing the aims and objectives of the community.”, he said.

According to him, the platform engenders their regional solidarity, which is why they all continue to demonstrate their commitment to each call to action by the community

He urged the stakeholders to focus not only on the parameters of equitable distribution of the statutory positions across member states, but also, they should be particularly concerned about fairness and inclusivity to ensure that everyone is involved with a shared vision for the future.

“Our decisions must be grounded in due process, transparency, equity, and in alignment with the broader regional commitments, as building blocks to guarantee economic integration, regional peace and security, and our democratic tenets as a community”, he said.

He conveyed warm greetings from the President of Sierra Leone,Julius Maada Bio, who is also Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, to the ECOWAS Commission, and the Members of the Ministerial Council for their unflinching support since his assumption of the leadership of the ECOWAS institution.

The Nigerian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, said Nigeria remains steadfast in its role as a dependable partner, ever ready to contribute meaningfully to the strengthening of the Community institutions, and to the realization of the noble objectives for which the Organization stands.

She reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to providing necessary support to ensure the continued success of the Organization in all its endeavours.

“We believe that with collective effort and renewed dedication, we can build a more effective, responsive, and fully functional Organization that truly serves the aspirations of our region and beyond”, she said.

She added that they fully recognize the importance of the exercise as an essential undertaking aimed at ensuring that all existing vacancies are duly filled, thereby enabling the Organization to operate at its optimal capacity.