APPENDIX A - AMENDED VERSION FWACCI LOGO

Transcription

1 APPENDIX A - AMENDED VERSION FWACCI LOGO INFORMATION DOCUMENT ON THE FEDERATION OF WEST AFRICA CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (FWACCI) 1.0: Background Information The Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FWACCI) was established in the 1970s as a platform for bringing together the National Chambers of Commerce of the member countries of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) FWACCI was instrumental in the promotion and formation of the following (i) (ii) ECOBANK - now a pan African Bank ECOMARINE FWACCI has also mooted the idea for the creation of a West African region - wide airlines.

2 2.0: Current Management Structure/Organigramme Of General Secretariat Of FWACCI BUREAU (with members) - i.e. - Governing Body Executive Assistant Secretary - General (CEO) Finance and Administrative Officer Programme Officer Finance and Administration Head of Operations Programme Officer Operations

3 3.0: The Political And Economic Environment For Private Sector Development And Growth In The ECOWAS Zone Countries In many of the countries in ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States), there is a clear shift in government policy. Hitherto, the state invested considerable resources in state - owned enterprises and managed several sectors of the economy. This policy has turned out to be successfully. Today, many governments in ECOWAS recognize the private sector as the most efficient agent for the sustainable economic development and growth. Likewise, ECOWAS Commission recognizes the private sector and, in particular, the FWACCI (the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce & Industry) as one of the agencies which can facilitate economic development, sustainable economic growth and economic integration in the sub region. ECOWAS Commission also sees FWACCI as a partner to promote intra - ECOWAS trade as well as trade between ECOWAS Zone countries and the rest of the world. ECOWAS Commission also recognizes the commitment of ECOWAS Zone countries to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were agreed and adopted by one hundred and ninety one (191) countries of the United Nations on 8 th September The MDGs includes developmental targets to be reached in the period 1990 and 2015 to reduce poverty.

4 4.0: Overall Objectives Of FWACCI The overall objectives of FWACCI are to: i. Promote the development of the private sector in the region; ii. Contribute towards the reduction of poverty through employment generation 5.0: Specific Objectives The specific objectives of FWACCI are to: i. Create a platform for networking among, on the one hand, the National Chambers of Commerce and, on the other constituent companies; ii. Provide business support services to member National Chambers and their constituent companies; iii. Promote the establishment of joint ventures, intraregional companies and consortia; iv. Build the capacities of the private sector in the region to take advantage of the fast changing integrating economies of the region; v. Enhance the capacity of the private sector to participate in the negotiations of regional and international trade agreements (China-Africa Forum, TICAD, AGOA, EPA- EU and ECOWAS trade protocols;

5 vi. Facilitate the implementation of ECOWAS programmes and projects with a view to deepening the integration process; and vii. Promote co-operation with Chambers of Commerce and Industry with the region s major trading partners such as EU, China, Japan, USA, Brazil etc. viii. Facilitate efficient and seamless cross-border trade in the region; and ix. Enhance the competitiveness of the private sector in the region. 6.0: Activities of the Interim Executive Committee (IEC) In pursuance of its mandate, the IEC under its Chairman, Mr. W.A. Krofah, President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, met in Accra from January. The aim at the meeting was to review the basic documents, including the Draft Constitution and the Draft Rules and Regulations prepared by the Reflection Sub-Committee. The meeting also considered the essential elements of a Draft Five-Year Strategic Plan and Draft Organigramme of the Proposed Secretariat of the revived Federation. The meeting also amended the draft basic documents and suggested a review of the Draft Five-Year Strategic and the Draft Organigramme with the job description of the posts and their corresponding salaries.

6 The meeting also considered the issue of the funding of the activities of the IEC and first year of operation and requested Afrinvest Consult Limited, the Advisory firm, to prepare the necessary documents to undertake a resource mobilization exercise. Finally, the meeting agreed to meet again in April 2008 at a venue to be agreed upon after consultations among the members of IEC. 7.0: Prospects for FWACC and China Co-operation Within the context of the forthcoming ECOWAS-China Economic and Trade Forum, the Federation is inviting potential investors from China to consider joint ventures and Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) for the projects/similar projects in the following programme areas: i. Providing Business Support and Network Services; ii. Facilitating the development of infrastructure facilities in West Africa, such as ECOMARINE, ECORAIL, ECOAIR etc; iii. Promotion of joint ventures; and iv. Promotion of trade finance. 8.0: Conclusion The Federation is, therefore, playing a critical role in the development of the private sector in the region.

7 The FWACCI is actively participating in the effort to promote economic development through trade promotion. Furthermore, the Federation is serving as an interlocutor between the private sector in the region and that of other continents.

8 APPENDIX B - ORIGINAL VERSION Information Document on the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FWACC) Background The Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce was established in the 1970s as a platform for bringing together the National Chambers of Commerce of the member countries of ECOWAS to facilitate the development of the private sector in the region. Specifically FWACC sought to increase the market share of the products and services at both regional and international levels as well as enhance the competitive edge of companies in the region through, inter alia, the formation of joint ventures. In this regard FWACC was instrumental in promoting the formation of ECOBANK and mooting the idea of the establishment of West African region-wide Airlines, ECOMARINE, Maritime Transport Company etc, some of which are still at the design stage. Unfortunately, the implementation of programmes and activities of FWACC ground to a halt because of the unstable political and economic situation that prevailed in the region in the 1980s and beyond. Improvements in political and economic conditions in the region in the late 1990s and early 2000 generated a lot of interest in the revival of FWACC. The interest aroused resulted in the formation of a Reflection Sub-Committee composed of Togo, Benin, Ghana and Nigeria which was mandated to revive FWACC by revising its Constitution of FWACC and other basic documents with a view to bringing them in line with the evolution of trade at the international and regional levels bearing in mind such developments as ECOWAS Integration Programme (ETLS etc.), ACP-EU its successor arrangements (EPA), WTO, China-Africa Forum, TICAD, AGOA, India- Africa Business Initiative etc It is recalled that the Revival of the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce was the subject of discussions of the meeting of the National Chambers of Commerce of West African countries that met in Accra on October The meeting took place on the margins of the First ECOWAS Business Forum that was held in Accra from October There are currently concrete efforts at revitalising the Federation with the establishment of an Interim Executive Committee (IEC) to drive the process. The committee is composed of Ghana, Chairman and the following countries chambers as members: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. ECOWAS Commission and ITC were included as advisors. The mandate includes the following: 1. Reviewing the Draft Constitution of the FWACC; 2. Mobilising resources for the work of the Committee; and

9 Context 3. Taking all the necessary administrative and technical measures to convene a General Conference of FWACC to adopt the Draft Constitution by March 2008; In the ECOWAS region, the shift from strong and active participation of the state in economic activities to state creation of a conducive environment that will enhance the private sector-led growth of the national economy and putting in place the appropriate regulatory environment that will enable the private sector to create wealth and therefore contribute to poverty reduction has been steady and relentless. Consequently, the private sector is seen as increasingly important in job creation. The private sector is also assuming an important role and becoming an essential element in the effort of the ECOWAS Commission and the governments of the countries of the sub-region to increase intra-regional trade which stands at only 11% of the region s external trade. Several West African countries have adopted their national Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Private Sector Development Programmes. iii. iv. Overall Objectives The Overall objectives of FWACC are to: Promote the development of the private sector in the region; Contribute towards the reduction of poverty through employment generation Specific Objectives The Specific Objectives of FWACC are to: x. Create a platform for networking among on one hand the National Chambers of Commerce as well as on the other hand among their constituent companies; xi. xii. xiii. xiv. xv. xvi. Provide business support services to member National Chambers and their constituent companies Promote the establishment of joint ventures, intra-regional companies and consortia Build the capacities of the private sector in the region to take advantage of the fast changing integrating economies of the region; Enhance the capacity of private sector to participate in the negotiations of regional and international trade agreements (China-Africa Forum, TICAD, AGOA, EPA-EU and ECOWAS trade protocols; Facilitate the implementation of ECOWAS programmes and projects with a view to deepening the integration process; and Promote co-operation with Chambers of Commerce and Industry with the region s major trading partners such EU, China, Japan, USA, Brazil etc.

10 xvii. xviii. Facilitate efficient and seamless cross-border trade in the region; and Enhance the competitiveness of the private sector in the region. Activities of the Interim Executive Committee (IEC) In pursuance of its mandate, the IEC under its Chairman, Mr. W.A. Krofah, President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, met in Accra from January to review the Basic documents including the Draft Constitution and the Draft Rules and Regulation prepared by the Reflection Sub-Committee as well as considered the essential elements of a Draft Five-Year Strategic Plan and Draft Organigramme of the Proposed Secretariat of the revived Federation. The meeting amended the Draft Basic documents and suggested a review of the Draft Five-Year Strategic and the Draft Organigramme with the job description of the posts and their corresponding salaries. The meeting also considered the issue of funding the activities of the IEC and first year of operation of the revived Federation and requested Afrinvest Consult Limited, the Advisory firm to prepare necessary documents to undertake a resource mobilisation exercise. Finally, the meeting agreed to meet again in April 2008 at a venue to be agreed upon after consultations among the members of IEC. Prospects for FWACC and China Co-operation Within the context of the forth coming ECOWAS-China Economic and Trade Forum, the Federation is inviting potential investors from China to consider joint ventures and Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) for the projects/similar projects in the following programme areas: v. Providing Business Support and Network Services; vi. vii. viii. Conclusion Facilitating the development of infrastructure facilities in West Africa, such as ECOMARINE, ECORAIL, ECOAIR etc; Promotion of joint ventures; and Promotion of trade finance. The IEC hopes that by mid-2008 there will be a fully revived FWACC and an international Secretariat to push the co-operation process and the agenda for private sector development. The Federation is therefore seen as playing a critical role in the development of the private sector in the region as an essential element in the effort to promote economic development through trade promotion. Furthermore, the Federation will serve as an interlocutor between the private sector in the region and that of other continents.