March 26, 2021
Hon. Sidi Tunis Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament
By: Mohamed M. Sesay
In ensuring that member countries are compliant in payment of community levy, the fifth Legislature of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) has yesterday the 25th of March, 2021 resolved to institute penalties against defaulting member states.
The report of the just concluded three days seminar held at the Bintumani Hotel in Freetown disclosed that products of the community levy represent between 70%-90% of ECOWAS institutions’ revenues.
It therefore implies that this is the main source of funding for the ECOWAS budget. Despite the existence of the mechanism constrained in the protocol relating thereto, and the establishment of a mechanism for monitoring its application particularly through the community levy management committee, the report indicates that, recovery of the community levy has encountered various difficulties since its entry into force in 2003. This situation had compromised the implementation of programmes and having a negative impact on the visibility of ECOWAS.
It was revealed that, the state of recovery of the community levy and arrears of contributions from member states indicates a low rate of mobilization of this resource due to several factors which include but not limited to; the community levy recovery of products by member states and the payment of amounts collected into their own accounts at the treasury without going through the ECOWAS community levy account opened in the central banks in accordance with the relevant protocols of ECOWAS. The issue had also caused delays the disbursement of mobilized products into these accounts.
The ECOWAS Parliament is of the view that this low mobilization rate of the community levy has resulted to: the inability of ECOWAS to fully implement its annual programmes and projects, the decline in ECOWAS’ visibility to the citizens of the community, the indebtedness of ECOWAS to member states (troop contributing countries), the donor influence and shift attention of ECOWAS agenda, and the reduced pace of economic integration.
The report recommends that: in view of the cash flow situation and especially the collection of revenue from the community levy and cognizant of the need to mobilize resources required to finance the community budget, it states that members of Parliament should recognize the urgent need for each national delegation to be involved in the effective implementation relating to the protocol; that parliamentarians should use their power of oversight of government action to press member states to fully implement the provision of the community levy protocol which includes the following; strict adherence to tax base (including petroleum products and other goods), the effective application of the community levy rate (0.5) on all import released for local consumption, compliance with payment deadlines 30 days after the recovery date, measures must be taken to avoid going through the treasury account, that central banks will have to carry out the terms of standing orders addressed to them by transferring 90% of funds to the community levy bank account at the end of each month, and member states should send their report on the liquidation of the community levy on time to enable ECOWAS commission to update their situation on schedule.
As part of the many measures to ensure effective compliance in the payment of the community levy by member states, the report further recommends that; member states should consider the implications of bilateral/multilateral trade agreements on the community levy before signing such agreements that may affect the community levy, that political and administrative decision to uplift the community levy should not be made unilateral, that Members of Parliament should support the ongoing revision of the community levy protocol in light of the new concerns expressed by member states, that members of the ECOWAS Parliament who are nationals from member states must capitalize on the provision of the rules of procedure at the national level to engage ministries in charge of the community levy in order to discuss not only recoveries, but also the effective application of the protocol, and that the method of the community levy should be reconsidered in order to achieve a direct payment into the account open for the above mentioned purpose in the central banks by taxpayers after liquidation by the competent services which will avoid delay and any payment into public accounts.\
The report also stresses the need for raising awareness and advocacy by all parliamentarians members of the ECOWAS parliament in their respective states, the members of the ECOWAS parliament must also use their powers under the supplementary Act to carry out all actions of control and the monitoring of the projects and programs of the community particularly in the area of its budgetary powers, that a specific ECOWAS parliamentary committee shall take up the issue of the community levy with a view to proposing to the parliament all necessary actions to effectively ensure the effective implementation of the community levy, and finally, that ECOWAS parliament shall take all necessary measures by virtue of the powers conferred on it by the supplementary Act relating to the strengthening of its powers, particularly in budgetary terms in order to ensure that member states comply with protocol A/P1/7/96 which was adopted on the 27th July 1996, defining the conditions for the application of the community levy.
In his closing statement of the parliamentary seminar, the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament RTD. Hon. Sidi Mohamed Tunis intimated that the seminar was actually geared towards giving members of the ECOWAS parliament the clear understanding of their important role they have to play to support payment of the community levy.
“This seminar has broaden our perspectives on the general overview of the community levy and the status of its implementation. I wish to use this time to express my gratitude to all the experts for the highly educative and enlightening presentations you made. The WCOWAS parliament stands firm to follow up with recommendations emanating from these discussions and support the commission and other institutions in ways that guarantee robust actions aimed at mobilizing member states to fulfill their obligation to the community”, said Hon. Tunis.