Role of the private sector

Transcription

1 SECOND ECOWAS BUSINESS FORUM OUAGADOUGOU, FEBRUARY 2009 Status of implementation of the integration process: Role of the private sector Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas President of the ECOWAS Commission 1

2 CURTESIES 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 2

3 INTRODUCTION The role of the Private Sector in Growth and Economic Development and Poverty Reduction has long been recognized by Member States, NEPAD and MDG programs Private Sector Development e e has been featured ed in the Annual Budgets of Member States since 2000 Private Sector identified as the engine for growth, development,employment creation & wealth generation. The series of ECOWAS Business Forums which began in 2007 confirms this and has enabled us to discuss common issues of development and adopt relevant actions to deliver agreed objectives 3

4 INTRODUCTION cont d In line with the focus on Private Sector by Member States t and as part of the process of transforming ECOWAS from Secretariat to a Commission, the Private Sector Department was set up in January 2007 under the Macroeconomic Policy Commission with the following Mandate (Ref:C/REG/9/12/99) 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 indigeneous entrepreneurship and Medium, Small & Medium Enterprises to foster pro-poor economic growth and sustainable 4 development in the region;

5 INTRODUCTION cont d 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 elopment of a viable regional capital market with strong linkages in all member states to facilitate the mobilisation of investment capital and wealth creation; 5. Promote the development of a viable regional capital market with strong linkages in all member states to facilitate the mobilisation of investment capital and wealth creation; 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. 5

6 Performance from January 2007 against Mandate We focussed 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

7 Performance from January 2007 against Mandate From January 2007, we focussed 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 7 Ouagadougou

8 Why are we here today We are gathered here today to further consolidate the gains we have made in creating a platform for the Chieftains of the Private Sector to meet and dialogue on policy, strategy etc issues etc To recap, the inaugural Forum of 2007 sought to: - deepen the engagement of the private sector in the integration process - bring them up to speed on key programs, and - harness their energies for their implementation This 2 nd Forum specifically seeks to promote agro-business through regional partnerships to deal with the urgent challenge of food security in the region in a sustainable manner was characterized by yg global Food, Energy and Financial crises. This presentation will seek to give a broad outline of the status of integration efforts as at 2008 in the light of these crises. We will also indicate the expected role of the private sector in the process of integration 8

9 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: Peace, Security and Good Governance Well developed infrastructure ie 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. 9

10 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 10

11 Creating an enabling environment for the Private Sector I. 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: Develope West Africa s electricity infrastructure Construct four (4) Power Stations and a Dam to boost electricity supply to Cote d Ivoire, 11

12 Creating an enabling environment for the Private Sector ECOWAS Commission i 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, Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone Construct rail links between Benin and Niger 10 MOUs signed in various sectors including agriculture, engineering, i funding, etc Expressions of interest received from some Chinese investors More details in the course of the Forum Expect the private sector to partner and invest fully 12

13 Creating an enabling environment for the Private Sector Agriculture - Food Production in a sustainable Manner 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 14 them to finance the project.

15 Creating market access for the Private Sector To address the market access issues: The Business Forums we are organising within the Region and with countries ti such as China, India etc with more interests t coming from Brazil, Iran, the Gulf etc Negotiating g Trade Agreements with EU and Emerging g 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. 15 At its last meeting held in Banjul, the ECOWAS Ministerial Monitoring Committee on EPA recommended a 5 th band of 35 percent.

16 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 16

17 Concluding Remarks In summary, following: The delivery of the priority actions from 2009 onwards; The increased level of focus on Private Sector Development activities througthe the establishment of the Private Sector Directorate: We expect the private sector to: Scale up its investment in all sectors, particularly Agriculture, Infrastructure and Tourism using available partnership frameworks, etc Adopt concrete modalities to establish the co-enterprise on rice 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 17

18 Concluding Remarks cnt d The global l crises confronting us today also presents an opportunity to upscale regionalism by engaging all sections of our society. Let us strengthen our capacities, nationally and regionally to realise the benefits of a regional market. Through an uninterrupted flow of business and other engagements between private sector operators, I believe that the achievement of our new vision ie an ECOWAS of people instead of an ECOWAS of States t by 2020 will be facilitated t Once again, it is my pleasure to welcome each one of you to Ouagadougou. I wish this 2 nd ECOWAS Business Forum, very fruitful deliberations. 18

19 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION Merci beaucoup pour votre attention Obrigado 19

20 INTRODUCTION O cont d td Your Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, we have over the past few years pursued a number of actions and delivered the following which provides the needed platform for the implementation of the mandate of the Private Sector Directorate: The establishment of a Private Sector Directorate within the Commission in January 2007 to provide for a single-minded i d focus of Private Sector Development activities. A number of protocols have been signed by the Authority of Heads of State and Government to facilitate t intra-regional i trade which h covered the following: Free movement of people, goods and services Abolition of visa requirements for member state citizens Issuance of a common ECOWAS passport etc The security situation in the region has improved generally with signs of stabilization in many areas. The joint efforts by ECOWAS and Member States t 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. The region made further strides in the democratization i and electoral l processes by conducting peaceful, free and transparent elections in several Member 20 States.