ECOWAS working to abolish resident permits - Bombande

A Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Emmanuel Bombande, says ECOWAS Heads of State are working to abolish resident permits for the citizens in member states.  

He said they have also mandated the ECOWAS Commission to work out the modalities for the adoption and eventual introduction of the biometric identity cards for community citizens, which started in January this year.  

Mr Bombande made these remarks in Accra at a media seminar on "Good Governance and Democracy; and its Provisions on Pro-Poor Policies and Economic Redistribution."  

He said the expectation of ECOWAS leaders is that the measures would enable member states to create an enlarged market to enhance competitiveness and development. 

Mr Bombande noted that in spite of the numerous challenges facing member states, it is in their supreme interest to make ECOWAS work. 

He said this would pave the way for accelerated growth and allow the benefits of the integration process to be felt by the ordinary ECOWAS citizen.

He, therefore, tasked the media, civil society organisations and religious bodies among others to get involved in ECOWAS activities to enable its members to plan a new course for its integration efforts in West Africa and Africa as a whole.  

The Executive Director, Media Foundation for West Africa, Sulemana Braimah said the seminar would enhance the skills of participants in doing effective reporting and programming to increase awareness of ECOWAS Protocols and its frameworks.  

At the end of the seminar, a National Network of ECOWAS Reporters in Ghana was instituted.

GNA