Thirty-third ordinary meeting of the ECOWAS Administration and Finance Committee opens in Bissau

The Thirty-Third Ordinary Meeting of the ECOWAS Administration and Finance Committee (AFC) opens in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. The biannual meeting which starts on July 2, 2023, and ends on July 4 2023 will consider among other issues the Status of Tasks Assigned to Community Institutions by the 32nd Meeting of the AFC, the Financial Situation of the Community as of 15^th June 2023 and Interim Report on Programmes and Budget Execution, Status of Implementation of the Provisions of the Community Levy Protocol by Member States, and Implementation Status of the ECOWAS Fund for Regional Stabilization and Development, among others.

In her opening address, H.E Mrs Damtien Larbli Tchintchibidja, the Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, thanked the people and government of Guinea-Bissau for the warm welcome and congratulated them for successful legislative elections. The Vice President reiterated the four strategic objectives of the present administration and the progress made in the achievement of the laudable goals. She urged the committee to enshrine professionalism and impartiality, thanking them for their service to the community, particularly regarding their deliberation on administrative and financial issues of the regional bloc.

The Chair of the Administration and Finance Committee, Dr. (Mrs.) Cristina Da Silva Pedreira, in her welcome statement, thanked delegates for their presence and encouraged them to carefully consider the documents on the agenda for the meeting towards arriving at sound and unbiased decisions. She stated that the utmost goal is to ensure that the citizens of the community derive the greatest possible benefit from the activities of the Commission.

In his remarks, the Commissioner for Internal Services, Professor Nazifi Abdullahi Darma, stated that the AFC remains the first port of call for decision-making by the governing organs of the community making the body strategically important for the smooth delivery of the plans and programmes of the Commission. Professor Darma enjoined the delegates to consider the items on the agenda so that the strategic objectives of the management can be achieved.