Lagos - Nigeria — ECOWAS has commissioned consultants to undertake a study of the existing investment laws of Member States as part of the process of harmonizing these laws towards creating a Community Investment Code.
The consultants, who were appointed, one for each Member State, are expected to conclude the study within 90 days relying on the parameters agreed at a three-day orientation workshop held in Lagos, Nigeria from 21st to 23rd September 2010. The consultants are required to involve local actors and draw inferences on the convergent and divergent provisions based on their findings, conduct stakeholder workshops in Member States for the validation of their reports and evaluate the existing national investment policies, using the ECOWAS Investment policy framework as a benchmark to determine the country's compliance with the regional policy framework.
Specifically, the workshop which also served as an opportunity to induct the consultants enabled the Commission to equip them with the requisite materials and provided a framework to guide the discharge of their assignment and responsibilities creditably. It had a further objective focusing the attention of the consultants on the deliverables and streamlining their views of the contents of the proposed Community Investment Code while providing a platform for them to interact and build a network to facilitate coordinated delivery of the project. The training covered an overview of ECOWAS Common Investment Market Vision; the ECOWAS Supplementary Act on Investment Rules, Competition and Competition Agency; the structure of a Community Investment Code; the structure of ECOWAS Investment Policy Framework and the Guideline for harmonization of Member States' Investment Codes and operation of the ECOWAS Common Investment Market (ECIM).
While opening the workshop, the Commissioner for Macroeconomic Policy, Professor Lambert Bamba, said the effective harmonization of the investment laws of Member States would be dependent on the efficient discharge of the consultants' responsibilities and their commitment to the ECOWAS agenda of regional economic integration. In the statement which was read by Mr. Alfred Braimah, the ECOWAS Commission's Director of Private Sector, Professor Bamba urged them to enlist the cooperation of relevant stake holders in their home countries so as to ensure ownership of the process and facilitate the quick adoption of the Code when completed.
Dr Jonathan Aremu, a consultant on ECIM, read a keynote address at the workshop in which he explained that the basis for harmonization of Member States' investment laws was anchored on the vision of the ECOWAS founding fathers, as enunciated in the ECOWAS Treaty. He said that the Treaty requires the coordination and harmonization of Member States laws and policies to achieve a single economic space and a friendly business environment for the private sector. He therefore underscored the need to secure the commitment of all actors in all the Member States, saying that this was the justification for the involvement of National Consultants who would understand not only their country's investment regulatory and policy frameworks but also the forces at play in shaping the entire business environment.
Dr. Aremu then tasked them to consequently make the process an inclusive exercise and reminded them that the harmonization of the various investment laws lies at the heart of effective economic integration of the region. The workshop also provided an opportunity to formally sign the contract with the consultants.
