ECOWAS Committed to Efficiency, Improved Service Delivery

2 September 2011
press release

Lome - Togo — ECOWAS is putting in place mechanisms for improving efficiency and service delivery to satisfy the yearnings of citizens and in line with best professional practices, the Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Jean de Dieu Somda has affirmed in Lome, Togo.

Speaking on Thursday, 1st September 2011 at the opening of a meeting of officials of Member States and Institutions of the Community on the ECOWAS Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Mechanism, he said the creation of M&E and strategic planning units was to give the Commission a new orientation for the promotion of efficiency in resource and personnel utilization in a coordinated and objective manner.

Mr. Somda said the M&E as a management tool would improve the capacity of management for institutional planning through a centralised planning and monitoring mechanism thereby ensuring the proper utilization of the resources of the community and partners. He told the meeting, called by the Commission to agree a road map for the implementation of the M&E Mechanism, that in order to create a favourable environment for the implementation of the tool, institutional arrangements were being reviewed at all levels following studies that identified some gaps and the capacity building requirements for it's operationalisation.

According to the Vice-President, the expected outcome of the Lome meeting, part of a series to determine the mechanisms for institutionalising accountability, is not only for a road map development, but also to help ECOWAS finalize capacity building plans in support of M&E.

The meeting was officially opened by Togo's Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Adjo Ayassor who praised ECOWAS for embracing the M&E tool, which he described as evidence of good governance and a mechanism for coordination and efficiency promotion. He said Togo was also developing an M&E mechanism with the support of donors in recognition of the indispensability of the tool in ensuring results-based management and in the spirit of the country's poverty reduction strategy.

The three-day meeting is being attended by officials of National Units from ministries responsible for ECOWAS affairs in Member States and institutions of the community with the support of GIZ, the German development agency.

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