Steering Committee for West African Public Service Games Finalizes Relevant Documents for Games

30 May 2011
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Economic Community of West African States (Abuja)
press release

Abuja - Nigeria — The Steering Committee for the inaugural edition of the West African Public Service Games (WAPSGA) to be hosted by Nigeria during the second half of 2011 has finalized some of the basic documents required for the games during a two- day meeting which ended on Thursday, 26th May 2011 in Abuja.

The documents are modeled after those used for the Federation of Public Service Games of Nigeria which inspired the impending regional games and include the Draft Rules and Regulations, Schedule of Conditions for the Organization of WAPSGA, Terms of Reference for the Organizing Committees and Technical Specifications for the Games. The meeting of the steering committee will be followed by a workshop before the games and designed to sensitize stakeholders on the objectives of the Games whose pilot edition will feature six ECOWAS Member States - Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo - in the pilot edition.

The games is expected to contribute to the regional cohesion thereby facilitating the actualization of the ECOWAS 2020 vision of a citizen-centred organisation. It would also help promote a physically fit and mentally alert public service for the unity and development of the region; promote the values of unity and peaceful co-existence as well as provide an avenue for the sharing of professional and ethical standards within the region's public services. Moreover, it would further serve as a platform of sporting interface and friendship among public servants; function as a mini sporting festival for public servants in West Africa and serve as a platform for the identification and development of sports talents within the region's public sector. While opening the meeting on 24th May 2011, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Human Development and Gender, Dr. Adrienne Diop, said that the promotion of sports among public servants was part of regional efforts to mobilize all sectors of the region to contribute to the desired integration of the region.

She highlighted the benefits of sports to the public service and explained that steps have been taken to give the Games "a character and identity" of their own, within the context of the new people-centred Vision of ECOWAS. The Commissioner who was represented by the ECOWAS Director in charge of Youth and Sports, Dr. Sintiki Ugbe, also observed that the public service sector constitute "a strong catalyst for development", adding that workers needed to be strong and healthy as harbingers of development.

Read the original article on Ecowas.

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