Summit was not a talkshop- Mills

Abuja, Feb 17, GNA-President John Evans Atta Mills on Wednesday gave thumbs-up for the success of the 37th Ordinary Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Governments of the Economic Community of West African States, saying it was no talk-shop.

He said the discusion on the resolution of renewed conflicts and the search for peace for development in the West African sub-region was in the interest of the peoples of the region, since development could never take place when peace was threatened.


In a post-Summit chat with journalists, the Ghanaian leader reminded leaders of their duty to use the available resources to improve the lives of the people.


Aside the discussion on issues of political stability and resolution of renewed conflict which took centre stage, the Summit underlined the need to reduce poverty and for the leaders to commit themselves to environmental preservation and climate change and increase food production.


President Mills said the meeting was well organised and commended Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Acting President of Nigeria, for the manner in which he deputised for President Umaru Yar' Adua of Nigeria who was receiving medical treatment abroad.


Wishing the President Yar'Adua a speedy recovery, the President said the acting President was up to the task and was a very good substitute. He also commended Mr. James Victor Gbeho, the Presidential Advisor on Foreign Policy, who was elected at the Summit to continue the term until next December of Dr. Mohmamed Ibn Chambas out-going President of the Ecowas Commission.

President Mills said Mr Gbeho was a worthy replacement. Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas takes up a new appointment as Secretary of the Africa Carribean Pacific Group in Brussels, Belgium.


On the suspension of Togo by the African Football Confederation (CAF), President Mills, a former Sports Administrator, said Ghana supports the Ecowas stand that decision was rather too harsh.


He said case of Togo rather deserved sympathy.


Togo lost two of its technical team members to rebel forces during the recent Angola 2010 tournament and subsequently pulled out of the competition after which the CAF slapped a ban for two consecutive times not to take part in the continental football competition.


Mr. Gbeho promised to work with dispatch on the Togolese issue with CAF, promising wide consultations among members of the Commission. He said he had no magic wand to the problems facing the Commission, naming some of the problems as poverty, renewed conflicts in Niger, and problems of transition in Togo and La Cote d'Ivoire, as well as peace and security, integration and governance.

Acting President of Nigeria Dr. Jonathan who was elected chairman of the regional body said any act taking over government through unconstitutional means would no longer be tolerated. He said: "The march towards democracy and good governance is ineluctable and will no more be allowed to suffer. Nigeria stands ready to work with all our sister countries within the sub-region to ensure that the gains which we have made become the norm for us in West Africa. "Let it be stated again that no place exists in this sub-region for such rape on the rights and indeed dignity of our people. No more will there be comfort zone for such political misadventurers", Dr. Jonathan in his acceptance speech.


He said that the region was confronted with a number of undemocratic forces, noting that the will of the people and their genuine aspirations for democracy were trampled upon with impunity in some countries in the region. He said: "That is why on January 9, 2009, we were compelled to convene an extra-ordinary summit to deal with the crisis in the Republic of Guinea. In order to uphold the principles enshrined in the 2001 ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, which all our member-states freely acceded to, we were left with no choice but to suspend Guinea from our organisation until the restoration of constitutional order in that country.


"Another member-state, Niger Republic, was suspended from our organisation on October 20, 2009 due to acts we perceived as contrary to the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. "Let me restate our firm commitment to assisting both Guinea and Niger in restoring constitutional order in their respective countries in the not-too-distant future."


Jonathan, however, noted that there had been some credible and acceptable elections at different levels in a few countries in the region. He said: "This process underscores the inalienable right of our people to choose their leaders. At the same time, the fight against corruption and the institution of transparency and best practices in governance are becoming our normal way of doing things.


"This wind of consolidation of democracy is quite pleasing and we must redouble efforts to ensure that greater substance and value are placed on them.

"After all, it is in our best interest to ensure that the institutions of governance are functional in our countries and thereby pave the way for us as governments to deliver to our people the gains, dividends and benefits of responsive and responsible leadership."


The Acting President also lauded the election in Guinea Bissau, describing it as a resounding success. Dr. Jonathan was optimistic that the Joint Border Post, which would also facilitate the free movement of persons, would commence this year, just as he called on the summit to address the issue of the roadmap for the realization of the second regional currency, the Eco.


He noted that the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations with the European Union offered an important platform to restate the need for a firm financial commitment from the EU on funding the EPA development programme. The outgoing President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Chambas in a valedictory speech, predicted recovery from the decline of ECOWAS development which he said, with the continued prudent macro-economic management of national economies up to 4.7 per cent growth in 2010 could be achieved.


He said: "The prospects for growth in the region remain bright. This is the reason for our resolution not to relent in our collective effort to face the challenges of the times but to deepen integration, which will afford us the advantages of economies of scale and increased competitiveness." Dr. Chambas said since the presidency of the commission was on a rotational basis, a schedule of the rotation would be required to determine which country would produce the next President.


Those who attended yesterday's summit included Dr. Thomas Boni Yayi of the Republic of Benin, Blaise Compare of Burkina Faso, Pedro Pres of Cape Verde, Professor John Evans Atta Mills of Ghana and Malam Bacai Sanha of Guinea Republic.

Others were Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, Ernest Koroma of Sierra Leone and Faure Gnassingbe of Togo. Three countries namely the Republic of Gambia, Cote d'Ivoire and Mali were represented. 17 Feb 2010