ECA and Its Partners Proceed With the Technical Validation of the Interim Report of the Study On the Establishment of an Autonomous Financing Mechanism for the LGA

29 June 2020
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United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Addis Ababa)

Niamey (Niger) — Experts from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Sub-Regional Office for West Africa, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Liptako Gourma Integrated Development Authority (LGA) met from June 24 to 25 to proceed with the technical validation of the interim report of the study on the establishment of a financing mechanism for the LGA to mobilise its own resources.

The report is the result of the implementation of a recommendation from the LGA's Council of Ministers, which asked for a study on the feasibility of such a mechanism on the basis of previous proposals.

This virtual workshop was held in a context where the reform of the LGA is being implemented on the basis of the conclusions of the feasibility study on "the transformation of the LGA into an integrated economic space covering the territories of the three Member States", carried out by the ECA and the Centre for Economic and Social Policy Analysis (CAPES) of Burkina Faso and the recommendations of the structural audit commissioned in 2011 by the LGA Council of Ministers.

Its overall objective is to examine and pre-validate the interim report of the feasibility study on the establishment of a financing mechanism for the LGA for transmission to the LGA decision-making bodies in preparation for their forth-coming sessions.

In her speech, the Director of the ECA Sub-Regional Office for West Africa, Ngone Diop, recalled that "The region covered by the Liptako Gourma Authority is the heart of the Sahel. It is an important region, a high priority for the United Nations and thus for the ECA". "For this reason," she added, "the United Nations Support Plan for the Sahel (SINUS), an important operational component of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel, makes the "Three-Border" area one of the most strategic areas for strengthening the regional integration and inclusive development of the region."

"Since 2007, we have made the LGA one of the priority institutions whose reform should considerably boost the strategic reorganisation of the integration mechanism in West Africa, through the professionalisation of the institutions revolving around ECOWAS federating all regional initiatives," continued the Director of the ECA Sub-Regional Office for West Africa.

For his part, the LGA Executive Secretary, Mr. Oua Saidou, affirmed that "The problem of financing for the LGA remains unresolved and is still current, especially with the widening of the actions of the institution to all the territories of the three Member States and the extension of its interventions to the security sector."

"It is therefore imperative to find a viable mechanism for financing development operations using its own resources, which would allow the LGA to be less dependent on both state contributions for its functioning and external aid for the feasibility studies and the implementation of development projects and programmes for the benefit of the communities in the sub-regional area," explained the LGA Executive Secretary.

This regional workshop for the technical validation of the interim report of the study on the establishment of a mechanism for the LGA to mobilise its own resources saw the participation of the LGA National Correspondents, one representative per Member State of the Ministries of Mines, one representative per Member State of the Ministries of Economy and Finance, representatives of the Ministries of Livestock and the Ministries of Renewable Energy, representatives of the technical and financial partners (ECA, UNDP) and executives of the LGA Executive Secretariat

For more information, please contact:

Tahirou Gouro, Communications Officer, ECA- SRO/WA,

Email: gouro2@un.org

Sub-Regional Office for West Africa

428 Avenue du Fleuve Niger

B.P. 744

Niamey, Niger

Read the original article on UNECA.

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