The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has ended a two-day stakeholders dialogue with Liberia Ministry of Mines & Energy.
Accordingly, the forum meant to insure and cement the energy sector that is serious connectivity to growth of every land, mines and energy division in West Africa.
The two days gathering aimed was to improved energy statistics among ECOWAS member states was seen in a uninformative manner as stakeholders from Ministry of Mines & Energy fully represented to acquired said knowledge.
The gathering took place recently in the conference room of the Casa Blanca Hotels in Monrovia.
Speaking during the end of the two days' workshop, ECOWAS Director of Commission on Energy and Mine, Bayaornibe Dabire said it will help eradicate poverty through enhanced governance, transparency, and accountability within the West African energy sector.
"This would also pave the way for universal access to modern, affordable, reliable and sustainable energy services, which is a precondition for sustainable development and for alleviating poverty within the region." Commission Dabire added.
The two days gathering was convened under the theme, "AGOSE-AO," and is a Ꞓ32 million project that was officially launched in April 2018 and was scheduled to end in April 2022.
Mr. Bayaornibe Dabire furthered that within the AGOSE-AO project, many other projects have been executed and impactful results were achieved.
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He maintained a key achievement of the programme was the elaboration and adoption of two important regional documents, namely the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Code and the Updated Regional Energy Policy.
The workshop brought Economic Community of West African States, and the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union in collaboration with the Commission of the European Union under the 11th European Development Fund was joyfully embraced by attendees.
However, these documents are setting a harmonized regulatory and legal framework within the energy sector of the region thereby, creating a conducive environment for better access to energy services, for improved living standards and for the socio-economic development of West Africa in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and with the international commitments on Climate Change.
"Inadequate access to modern energy services and poverty are highly correlated. We believe that we must go beyond just the social dimension and provide energy for productive purposes," The ECOWAS Director of Commission asserted.
He then noted that once a conducive environment for access to modern energy services is created, a large population of people will be able to use the energy for productive and income generating activities adding that it will help them come out of poverty and improve their living standards.
ECOWAS Director of Commission stated that there is a need to harmonies the legal and regulatory framework across the 15 member-states of the ECOWAS, and to ensure a secured, transparent, stable and vibrant common market which will attract investors from within and outside of West Africa.
