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Ghana asked to issue ECOWAS passport
Accra, June 29, GNA - Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, President of
the ECOWAS Commission, on Thursday appealed to Ghana to
speed up the implementation of the common passport regime
for member states, saying it was a key factor to bolstering
the integration process.
He said Ghana, one of the lead countries in the integration
process, had till date not joined countries issuing the
common passport needed for free movement within the
sub-region.
"Six countries within the sub-region, namely Senegal,
Nigeria, Niger, Benin Guinea and Liberia, have started
issuing the common passport and we urge other countries to
join to give meaning to the integration," he told the GNA in
an interview at the ongoing Executive Council meeting of the
African Union in Accra.
He was contributing to the need for a common passport for
citizens if Africa was to unite under a common government.
Dr Chambas said ECOWAS countries could not be left out in
the globalization process, which meant free movement of
persons across borders without hindrance.
Security issues should not be the hindrance for integration,
he said, adding that those involved in criminal activities
were a minute or insignificant proportion of the population
of the ECOWAS sub-region.
He said the ECOWAS passport had enhanced security features
with an embedded chip, bearing the identity of the bearer.
He added that if accepted by all the member states,
criminals would be easily wiped out though the co-ordination
of security forces at the borders.
He said corrupt practices by personnel manning the borders
would be one of the drawbacks to the smooth implementation
of the ECOWAS passport.
Dr Chambas said the Commission had set up a monitoring team
along the Abidjan-Lagos corridor to identify corrupt
practices and advice on how to curb it to enhance the free
movement of people who were out to do genuine business.
"We should all be involved in working to remove all the
unnecessary road blocks," he said, and called on countries
that had still not joined the regime for the issuance of a
common ECOWAS passport to do so.
Dr. Chambas also called on member states to address the
economic and social needs of the various institutions set up
to enhance the integration process.
"Setting up institutions, without the requisite manpower and
resources to work, cannot produce progress," he said, adding
that what was needed was a functional Commission that would
see to the implementation of the process to achieve the set
mandate.
GNA
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