Economic integration: GIMPA lecturer makes case for supranational ECOWAS government

A lecturer at the GIMPA Faculty of Law, George Baffour Asare-Afriyie, has made a strong case for the West African subregion to have a government that wields power beyond national boundaries.

At a colloquium on Thursday, November 2, 2023, Asare-Afriyie presented a paper on the topic “Giving ECOWAS the Teeth: A Case of a Supranational Government for the West African Sub Region,” where he outlined the need for the members of the region to cede some of their sovereign power to a recognised body in pursuit of economic and transnational growth.

His lecture among other things covered the structure of ECOWAS, achievements of the organisation in relation to treaties, rules, conventions and regulations as well as the challenge of enforcing such agreements.

He also explained the concept of supranationalism citing the case of the European Union as a classic example and how it can be adopted ton suit the ECOWAS context.

Speaking to the media after his presentation, lawyer George Baffour Asare-Afriyie outlined the objective of his proposed ECOWAS supranational government and its significance.

“I explained the concept of supranationalism, that is where various governments have to cede some of their sovereignty to this body. This is because I am of the opinion that ECOWAS does not have the teeth to bite, so regarding most of these policies they are not able to implement.

"But if we have a body that is very powerful, that is neutral so that this body would see to the enforcement to the realisation of all these issues that we still have,” he stated.

He emphasised that despite the many agreements by ECOWAS, there exist a major problem in the movement of goods and services within the subregion but emphasised that a supranational government will eliminate such challenges.

“For example when it comes to the free movement of goods and services, this is something that everybody in Ghana whether educated or not knows what happens if you are moving from one country to another within the ECOWAS sub-region.

“We know the frustrations, some will ask you for this and that which will frustrate you in the end so if we want proper economic regional or sub-regional integration, and we do not get rid of this by having this supranational organisation or supranational government to see to the enforcement of the various policies that we have, the various protocols the various treaties then it is better we just scrap ECOWAS and rather be left with our individual countries,” he explained.

The lecture was well attended by students of the GIMPA Law Faculty, lecturers as well as senior lawyers and judges who applauded lawyer Asare-Afriyie for the depth of his paper.

Chairperson for the event, Sheila Minka-Premo who is a Managing Partner at Apex Law Consult, called for an adoption of the paper by ECOWAS noting its ultimate benefits for the development of the sub-region.

GA/SARA



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