The Guinea-Bissau, on Tuesday, December 6 presented its Country Report to ECOWAS Parliament. The report provided a brief overview of the political, economic, and social situation in Guinea-Bissau.
According to the report, “In May 2022, the President of the Republic dissolved the National People’s Assembly due to what he considered to be a serious institutional crisis.
“Early parliamentary elections were held on 4th June 2023, with 20 Political Parties and 2 Coalitions of Parties admitted by the Supreme Court of Justice.
“The 102 elected Members were sworn in on the 27th of July 2023, and the Bureau of Parliament was elected on the same day.
The government that resulted from these elections was sworn in on the 13th of August 2023, and is made up of 19 Ministries and 15 Secretariats of State.
The incident that took place on the 1st February 2022, considered by the country’s authorities to be an attempted coup d’état, continues to agitate the Guinea Bissau political scene,” the report noted.
On the security situation in the country, the report explained that, “The Guinea-Bissau Stabilisation Support Mission (MASGB) has been stationed in Guinea-Bissau since May 2022.
The Mission’s mandate is to support the country’s defence and security forces in order to guarantee the security of the President of the Republic, the appointed authorities and the citizens of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau;
Protect civilians and improve security conditions, in accordance with international humanitarian law.
The international economic situation has its repercussions on Guinea-Bissau’s economic situation, which is characterised by uncontrolled inflation.
According to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Guinea Bissau economy grew by 4.2 per cent in December 2022 and should recover moderately to 4.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in 2023.
The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights recently announced the creation of the General Ombudsman’s Office for the defence of human rights in Guinea-Bissau.
Guinea-Bissau joined the Convention on Environment and Human Rights this year.
Religious Leaders organised a meeting and adopted a Common Agenda for Peace in Guinea-Bissau.
On the state of implementation of the Community Texts, the report explained that “As mentioned in the November 2022 report, with the dissolution of the National People’s Assembly on 116th May 2022, it was not possible for the Plenary Session of the Guinea Bissau Parliament to meet, so there has been no progress on the ratification of Community Texts.”
It however restated that the Guinea-Bissau government is committed to making progress on all fronts, including political, economic, and social. The country faces a number of challenges, but the government is working to address them.
The report appealed for the continous support of the international community and provide assistance to Guinea-Bissau.
Similarly, Guinea-Bissau government should continue to implement reforms to improve the lives of its citizens.
@SummitPost