Let’s battle Ebola - President Mahama appeals to colleague leaders
ECOWAS Chairman and President of Ghana, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has called on his colleagues in the regional group to take urgent steps to battle the Ebola scourge.
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“We must do everything within our power and means to defeat this deadly disease,” he told his colleagues at the opening of the 45th Ordinary Session of ECOWAS in Accra yesterday.
Ebola, which has already claimed about 500 lives in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in just six months, is featuring prominently on the agenda of the two-day Accra meeting.
The President also challenged national and regional medical research institutions to intensify efforts at finding cures or vaccines for diseases, including Ebola.
Mr Mahama stressed the need for leaders in the sub-region to exercise vigilance and caution to avoid any panic and misinformation on the disease.
He commended the World Health Organisation, Doctors without Borders and other relevant international institutions for their efforts at containing the spread of the disease.
Free movement
The President welcomed the proposal to introduce the Community Citizens Biometric Identity cards and argued that their features should make it easy to carry out any quick verification of identity at any convenient place and time in the sub-region.
“As registered ECOWAS Community Citizens, our people should be able to move freely in West Africa and enjoy all the opportunities opening up in our member states,” he said.
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He lauded the President of Burkina Faso, Mr Blaise Compaore, under whose tenure as ECOWAS Chairman progress towards the free movement of persons and goods within the ECOWAS sub-region was expedited.
Mr Mahama called on member states, particularly border officials, to take the legal and necessary steps to remove all challenges or bottlenecks to trade and commercial activities within the sub-region.
Peace in ECOWAS
The ECOWAS Chairman expressed appreciation to all who were involved in efforts to bring peace to Mali.
He also commended Algeria and Mauritania for their support in the peace process and acknowledged the increased cooperation from Cameroon and Chad to defeat the Boko Haram threat in North Eastern Nigeria.
Potentials
The President was confident about the opportunities for creating a prosperous life for the people of the sub-region.
For him, the ECOWAS region held great potential for the more than 300 million people who lived in it, adding that their hopes and aspirations could get a boost from the crucial discussions and decisions that would be taken at the summit.
“They look up to us to help them realise their dreams. They want us to provide rapid and sustainable economic development, peace and security and overall improvement in their lives,” Mr Mahama stated.
He called on his colleagues to recommit themselves to the task of building an integrated West Africa that was full of opportunities and delivered on the promise of better days and better lives for the people.
Single currency
On the vexed issue of a common currency for the sub-region, Mr Mahama stated that progress had been made in that regard, adding that a headway was also being made in the implementation of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET), which is expected to come into effect from January 1, 2015.
He urged the ECOWAS Commission and member states to ensure that citizens in the sub-region, especially importers, were well informed to become strong advocates and stakeholders in the implementation of the CET.
Commission President
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, called for the intensification of efforts in the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime, particularly terrorism.
He extended the condolence of ECOWAS to the families of the victims of recent bombings by the Boko Haram in Abuja and other parts of the country and pledged the continued support of ECOWAS to Nigeria in the fight against terrorism.
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With general elections due to be held in a number of member countries next year, Mr Ouedraogo stressed the need for peace, the rule of law and democracy to thrive in those countries.