Economic Community of West African States. Communauté Economique Des États de l Afrique de l Ouest

Transcription

1 Economic Community of West African States Communauté Economique Des États de l Afrique de l Ouest Maximizing the opportunities in ECOWAS / Framework for the promotion of Agribusiness by Development Partners: Role of Partners, Private Sector & ECOWAS Commission 1

2 OUTLINE 1. Introduction 2. Role of ECOWAS Commission / Member States t 3. Role of Private Sector Outcome of the ECOWAS China Economic & Trade Forum (e.g.) 4. Role of Development Partners 5. Conclusion 2

3 Introduction Your Excellency, Mr. Blaise Campaore, President of Burkina Faso Excellencies, Ministers of ECOWAS Members States Members of the Diplomatic Corps Development Partners Captains of Industry Distinguished Investors Chieftains of the Media Distinguished participants Ladies and gentlemen 3

4 INTRODUCTION cont d Captains of the Private Sector, Development Partners, Ladies and Gentlemen, there are enormous opportunities in the ECOWAS Member States as well as the world at large that remains un/underexploited. As a result the region remains vulnerable to global crisis either directly or indirectly as has been experienced from 2008 as follows:. Global Food Crisis Global Energy Crisis and More recently Global Financial Crisis The focus of this presentation is on the role of the following in the maximization of opportunities for ECOWAS Member States from the Global, Regional and sub-regional Community. ECOWAS Commission / Member States Private Sector Operators Development Partners 4

5 Role of the ECOWAS Commission and Member States The ECOWAS Commission and Member States response to the maximisation of opportunities has been among other things the creation of the following: Establishment of a Private Sector Directorate in January 2007 to provide a single-point focus for the implementation of programmes leading to the development of the Private Sector in ECOWAS The Mandate as approved by Council and adopted d by the Authority following the creation of the Private Sector Directorate are as follows: 5

6 Role of the ECOWAS Commission /Member States Mandate 1. To facilitate the achievement of structural transformation of the Regional Economy and foster overall socio-economic dev t by implementing programmes to improve the investment climate, increase domestic investments and attract foreign investments; 2. Enhance competitiveness of the regional private sector through promoting good corporate governance, supporting the provision of business development services, establishment of guarantee institutions and promoting the dev t of indigenous entrepreneurship and Medium, Small & Medium Enterprises to foster pro-poor economic growth and sustainable development in the region; 6

7 Role of the ECOWAS Commission /Member States 3. Facilitate the involvement of the Private Sector in the regional integration process through support to regional private sector institutions and the creation of relevant new ones; 4. Promote the development of a viable regional capital market with strong linkages in all member states to facilitate the mobilization of investment capital and wealth creation; 5. Facilitate the establishment of multinational Joint Ventures, private-public partnerships and community enterprises in the region to promote regional investments, employment and sustainable inclusive growth; and 6. Encourage West African entrepreneurs to develop and maintain links with Diaspora groups, relevant continental and intercontinental bodies etc to attract investment and its associated benefits to the regional private sector. 7

8 Performance from January 2007 against Mandate We focused our energies on the implementation of programmes to ensure the on- going delivery of the mandate as follows: Mandate 1: Collaborated with stakeholders like the NEPAD Business Group Cote d Ivoire, ABR, EU/Bizclim, USAID, ADB, etc to present policy papers and organize policy dialogues aimed at improving the business and investment climate in the Region. Mandate 3:Organized revival meetings for FEWACC, ECOWAS FEBWWE and FEWAMA to create a platform for the active participation of the private sector in the regional integration process. Mandate 6: Collaborated with the CCPIT/People s Republic of China PRC) to organize the 1 st ECOWAS China Economic and Trade Forum in September Mandate 2: Through collaborative efforts with member states, civil society etc, there has been considerable improvement in peace, security and good governance and thus created the enabling environment for private sector development. 8

9 Performance from January 2007 against Mandate From January 2007, we focused our energies on the implementation of programmes to ensure the on-going delivery of the mandate as follows: Mandate 3:Commenced consultations with the business community towards the establishment of the ECOWAS Business Council as an advisory body of the Authority of Heads of State and Government on the promotion of investment and private sector in the region. Mandate 1,3&4 :Concluded the process for the development of the draft regional investment rules. Mandate 1,3 &4:Commenced the process for the development of the Community Investment Code Mandate 1,3&4:Commenced the process of sensitizing the Investment Communities / Promotion Agencies on the rules. We facilitated the process for the adoption of draft competition rules. Mandate 6:Organised the 1 st ECOWAS Business Forum in Accra, Ghana in 2007 and are now organising the 2008 forum here in Ouagadougou 9

10 Creating an enabling environment for the Private Sector We are fully aware of the urgent need to address the following jointly with the member states to create an enabling environment for the private sector to develop and thus maximize opportunities: Peace, Security and Good Governance Well developed infrastructure i.e. Roads, Rail, Air and Sea Transport as well as Energy etc The promotion of Agriculture within a well co-ordinated ordinated policy framework. Market access Intra-regional and global I am happy to update you on actions taken to date: Regional Peace and Security The security situation in the region has improved generally with signs of stabilization in many areas. The joint efforts by ECOWAS and Member States in promoting dialogue, preventive diplomacy and peace building have led to a steady improvement in security in Côte d Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. 10

11 Creating an enabling environment for the Private Sector Regional Peace and Security Cont d The region made further strides in the democratization and electoral processes by conducting peaceful, free and transparent elections in several Member States. t However, banditry, hostage taking, human and drug trafficking, proliferation of small and light arms poses a threat to the gains made. Private sector can contribute to peace building and lobbying governments/national parliaments to ratify and domesticate the following protocols to consolidate the gains made so far: Protocol on the Fight Against Corruption, Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and ECOWAS convention on small arms and light weapons, their ammunition and other related materials. Private sector can also report possible crises issues to the 5 observation and monitoring centres in the region 11

12 Creating an enabling environment for the Private Sector INFRASTRUCTURE - ENERGY His Excellency Joao Nino Bernado VIEIRA, President of Guinea Bissau nominated by your Excellencies to co-ordinate the regional energy programme Regional action plan on energy developed with the following major programmes: The West African Power Pool (WAPP) and West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) Project, - ECOWAS/ UEMOA Energy access programme, - A special energy programme for Cape Verde and the WAPP Emergency Power Supply Security Plan (EPSSP) has been set up to tackle the regional energy shortage situation. High-level visit to Trinidad and Tobago to follow up on the sharing of experiences regarding harnessing of gas resources ECOWAS Commission is collaborating with China to: Develop West Africa s electricity infrastructure Construct four (4) Power Stations and a Dam to boost electricity supply to Cote d Ivoire, Construct rail links between Benin and Niger 10 MOUs signed in various sectors including agriculture, engineering, funding, et 12

13 Creating an enabling environment for the Private Sector Agriculture - Sustainable Food Production ECOWAS Common Agricultural Policy in place A Rice Forum was organised by ECA & ECOWAS Commission in Mali in October 2008 to discuss and agree a Roadmap for the production of Rice Commercially in the region A follow-up meeting on Rice was organised by NEPAD Business Group with the support of the Commission in Nigeria in November 2008 Similar meetings will be held in selected Rice Producing Countries in the Region in nd ECOWAS Business Forum on Agro-business Expect the private sector to invest fully and drive the initiatives 13

14 Creating an enabling environment for the Private Sector Agriculture Cont d ECOWAS Council of Ministers meeting held May / June 2008 proposed a regional offensive approach to the food crisis. Within the ECOWAP framework investment programmes are being developed by member states to identify gap funding in short medium and long term. To fund this regional Investment Programme, ECOWAS Commission with the support of French Government and EU organised a fund raising in Paris on 9th December 2009 Objective: To establish a political l dialogue for the attraction ti of Investments t in Agriculture and to secure funding support for ECOWAP Outcome: Three main actions agreed as follows: Member states and the Commission to finalise the national and regional Agriculture investment programmes by end of February 2009 ECOWAS Commission to consolidate these programmes and present to the Ministers of Agriculture, Trade and Finance of the member states in July 2009 for the funding required to be agreed by the Ministers. ECOWAS Commission to organise a meeting with the Development Partners in October 2009 to seek their buy-in for the Investment programme and also for them to finance the project. 14

15 Creating market access for the Private Sector To address the market access issues: The Business Forums we are organising g within the Region and with countries such as China, India etc with more interests coming from Brazil, Iran, the Gulf etc Negotiating Trade Agreements with EU and Emerging Markets A regional agreement is scheduled for June 2009 and this will supersede the interim EPAs initialled by Côte d Ivoire (now concluded) and Ghana. The outstanding areas in the EPA negotiation include the issues of : market access in terms of sensitive products and rules of origin, formulation of development programmes and their financing, and drafting of West Africa s legal text. Other areas of divergence are the financing of EPA development programmes (fiscal and economic costs of roads, electricity, etc) and the transition period. Discussion on this is in progress Common External Tariff (CET): Closely related to the EPA negotiation is the adoption of a CET that is development-friendly. The aim of a development-friendly CET envisages the possibility of the creation of a 5 th band. At its last meeting held in Banjul, the ECOWAS Ministerial Monitoring Committee on EPA recommended a 5 th band of 35 percent. 15

16 Outcome of the China ECOWAS Trade & Economic Forum Jointly by ECOWAS Commission and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) 23 rd to 26 th Sept 08: Following the successful Sino-Africa Forum in Nov 2006 In line with the Departmental Mandate already presented 16

17 Performance against KPI s More than 400 participants from ECOWAS travelled to China and participated in the Forum in Beijing and about 200 participated in the Wuhan Forum 514 private and public sector operators registered to attend the Forum as at 15/8 (closing date) 490 visa invitations were issued by CCPIT as against the max. of 450 agreed Large number of requests to register to participate in the Forum received after the 15 August 2008!! 17

18 Final List of participants mobilized Item No. Participating Country Or Participating Organization Number of Participants Remarks 1. The PROMOTERS The Sub Regional Organisations/Groupings i Benin 24 4 Burkina Faso 12 5 Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) 0 6. Ivory Coast (Cote d Ivoire) Gambia 3 8. Ghana Guinea Guinea Bissau Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo 43 GRAND TOTAL

19 Performance against KPI s More than 600 Chinese Public / Private sector operators and Government delegates including the Vice Premier attended the Forum Mobilization of Bankable / Financeable Projects Total Value of Projects mobilized - $38bn Regional Infrastructure Projects - $25.8bn Private Sector Project - $12.2bn Firm interests expressed by Large Chinese organizations in selected Projects during the Forum:US$8bn (A lot more coming in!!) 19

20 Performance against KPI s 9 MOU s and 1 Power of Attorney signed Partnership and Economic Relationship with CCPIT China State Construction Eng. Corp Ltd China Gezhouba (Group) Corporation Chinaways Cattle and Sheep Industrial Group China Optimization Society of Capital Construction Nanjing Municipal Peoples Government ECOWAS Market China Major Bridge Eng Co. Ltd GET International Gao Wei (Power of Attorney) Fenis Impex (Nigeria) / Wuhan Kaidi Holding Invest Co. Evidence of the success of the Forum Joint operationalisation of MOU s with member states required 20

21 Next Steps Draft Action Plan developed covering 4 main categories and will be presented in the next slides. Full support of member states required to implement the action plan Full support of / participation of Private Sector Operators absolutely critical Broad categories of the Action Plans are as follows: Plan A: Policy decisions and administrative actions to be taken by ECOWAS Commission to set up a mechanism to manage the ECOWAS China relations Plan B: Actions to be taken by ECOWAS Commission and CCPIT to institutionalize and manage the ECOWAS China relations Plan C: Actions to be taken by ECOWAS Commission in respect of infrastructure development in ECOWAS Plan D: Actions to be taken by ECOWAS Commission in respect Private Sector issues 21

22 2009+ Priority Actions In summary, the priority actions for the years ahead include: Develop Regional Infrastructure i.e. Energy and Transport Implementation of the action plans agreed in the Guinea Bissau and Yamoussoukro Meetings on Energy and Infrastructure Take off of the Project Preparation and Development Unit (PPDU) to assist the Commission in packaging strategic projects. Promote PPPs in infrastructural development Implement ECOWAS Common Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) Unique opportunity to re-launch West African Agriculture as a business for sustainability Implement actions agreed in the fund raising meeting organised in Paris on 9/12 Intensify efforts to remove barriers to free movement of persons/goods Proceed with EPA negotiations and deliver: Customs Union Effective functioning of free trade zone Pursue other partnerships with emerging markets such as China, India, Brazil, Turkey etc Engage the private sector more in regional integration 22

23 Role of Development Partners As we pursue our agenda of achieving our vision of an ECOWAS of People by 2020, we need the following support from our Development Partners: Provision of support for capacity building of: The Regional Bodies and Associations e.g. start-up cost for the reactivation of Regional bodies etc The relevant ECOWAS institutions within the Commission and Member States The funding of relevant projects in the Capacity Building area e.g. Studies, sensitization workshops etc Provision of funding (concessionary loans, grants etc) for on-lending to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises One of the vehicles for tackling extreme poverty directly: E.g. is the Spanish Fund granted to ECOWAS Commission for the establishment of Business Incubators for African Women Entrepreneurs Simplification of rules and procedures for the accessing of funds under the various support schemes Support ECOWAS to lobby against unfair trade practices that limit market access products from ECOWAS Region Co-sponsorship for the organizing of Fora as appropriate e.g. EU co- sponsorship of an Economic and Trade Forum in one of the European Countries etc 23

24 Role of the Private Sector In conclusion, having created the enabling environment for businesses to thrive and grow, we expect the private sector operators to: Take advantage of the collaboration opportunities created through the fora organized to: Enter into partnerships, joint venture arrangements with local, sub-regional / regional and Global business operators Public Private Partnership arrangements especially in infrastructure, Agriculture etc that are becoming available e.g. co-enterprise on Rice initiative! Enter into technology transfer arrangements to improve their operations Contribute to Private Sector policy and strategy development at the country and sub-regional level thus ensuring that policies and strategies address their needs Scale up its investment in all sectors, particularly Agriculture, Infrastructure and Tourism using available partnership frameworks, etc Support the efforts of the ECOWAS Commission by campaign vigorously against barriers to free movement of goods and persons, including barriers to ECOWAS goods in foreign markets Participate and sponsor more ECOWAS programs in the coming years 24

25 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION Merci beaucoup ppour votre attention Obrigado 25