ECOWAS Parliament Meets In Gambia To Address Barriers To Free Movement in West Africa

The ECOWAS Parliament has begun a critical meeting in Banjul, Gambia, to discuss improving the free movement of people and goods across West African countries.

Led by ECOWAS Parliament Speaker, Hon. Hadja Ibrahima, the meeting will run from August 26 to 30.

The theme of the meeting is: “The role of Parliament in the implementation of the Protocol on the free movement of persons and the right of residence and establishment in the ECOWAS region.”

The parliament discussions will focus on the challenges in enforcing the ECOWAS Protocol on Free Movement, which was signed in 1975. This agreement was designed to allow citizens of ECOWAS countries to travel, live, and work in any member state without needing a visa.

However, nearly 50 years later, there are still obstacles to achieving the visa-free movement for goods and citizens of member states. The parliament’s speaker, Ibrahima, said that differences in national policies, weak enforcement, and poor infrastructure have slowed the implementation of this free movement and trade protocol. She stressed the need for more robust governance and cooperation to achieve the protocol’s goals.

Also speaking, Gambian National Assembly Speaker Fabakary Tombong Jatta called for concrete actions to remove these barriers to free movement. At the same time, the head of the Gambian delegation, Billay Tunkara, urged ECOWAS members to tackle issues like immigration, insecurity, and cross-border crimes that hinder free movement.

Over the next few days, ECOWAS parliamentarians will explore strategies to implement the Free Movement Protocol better.

This Banjul meeting is an essential step toward achieving a more integrated West Africa. Article 3 of the ECOWAS Treaty provides for creating a common market, which led to the creation of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS), the first instrument to achieve these objectives. However, fully implementing the scheme within the region has been challenging as some countries fail to comply with ETLS protocol.

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