Decline In Community Levy Remittances Worries ECOWAS Parliament
By Innocent Odoh and Punarimam Fehintola in Lome, Togo
Members of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Parliament) have expressed concern over the increasing shortfalls in the remittances of the community levy by some member countries of the regional bloc.
Indications to this development emerged on Thursday during the closing ceremony of the two-day induction session for members of the ECOWAS Parliament, presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Memounatou Ibrahima, which is part of the ongoing 2024 Third Extraordinary Session of the 6th Legislature in Lome, Togo.
The Director of Finance and Administration of the ECOWAS Parliament(DAF) Anna Jagne, had during her presentation, lamented that 2024 is the worst year in recent history in terms of the compliance by some member countries of ECOWAS on remittances of the levy, stressing that it has serious implications on the operations of the regional bloc.
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Article 40 of the Financial Regulations of ECOWAS outlines the Community Levy as the principal source of revenue for the Community. The levy is a 0.5% tax imposed on goods from non-ECOWAS Member States. It constitutes between 70 and 90% of the ECOWAS budget.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the induction session about the troubling development, Nigerian Member of Parliament, Awaji Inombek Abiante, attributed the difficulty in remitting the levy by some West African countries to the dwindling economic fortunes of the states and paucity of funds amid pressing domestic needs.
He said “The issue of community levy is a direct relationship to the state of our economies. It is only when you have enough that the purchasing power will increase. But if you have an economy that is heading south; of course everything will head south.
“And some member states might now begin to find challenging needs for whatever resources they have, making it difficult for appropriate and timely releases and remittances even when they have collected because there are other more exigent demands on them.
“So the best approach on issues of this nature will be to continually strengthen our economic base in the region. But as long as our economies are moving southwards, contributing to the purse will be challenging and the demand for funds will keep on increasing.”
Also speaking to reporters, Member of Parliament from The Gambia, Darbo Alhagie, said that more pressure should be mounted on countries that defaulted in payment.
“We need to know those that have defaulted and ensure that at the level of parliament we can encourage our countries to pay the levy otherwise the implication will be dire on the operations of the Community.”
“If countries are not paying their levy, it is going to affect the operations of the Parliament and other ECOWAS institutions in general,” he said.
Declaring the induction session closed, the Speaker, Memounatou Ibrahima, said the session was a milestone in the history of the ECOWAS institutions.
“This session has deepened the knowledge of the functions and roles of ECOWAS institutions, the members of parliament and their privileges. We are the custodians of the aspiration of our people. These resources are a treasure for the work of the ECOWAS institutions and I express my sincere appreciation for your active participation and for your deep reflections,” she said.