West Africa Free Movement Policy: ECOWAS Citizens Call for Implementation+PHOTOS
Gloria Ikibah
By Gloria Ikibah
Citizens of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in The Gambia have expressed concerns over the lack of effective implementation of the free movement protocol in the region.
President of ECOWAS citizens in The Gambia, Michel Koivogui, shared these views during a public hearing in The Gambia on Tuesday, at the delocalized meeting of the Joint Committee on Trade, Customs and Free Movement/Legal Affairs and Social Affairs, Gender, Women Affairs and Persons With Disabilities/Political Affairs, Peace, Security and APRM in Gambia.
The hearing was part of a broader meeting involving various joint committees focused on social affairs, legal issues, political matters, and regional integration.
The Co-chair of the Joint Committee, Hon. Edwin Melvin Snowe, explained that the town hall meeting aimed to gather citizen feedback on the implementation of the regional bloc’s free movement protocol.
He promised that all concerns and suggestions would be reviewed to enhance the implementation of regional protocols, particularly regarding free movement.
Naijablitznews.com reports that ECOWAS Member States adopted the Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons, the Right of Residence, and Establishment on May 29, 1975, recognizing the importance of free movement for regional integration.
Despite this, Koivogui highlighted that nearly fifty years later, cross-border movement within West Africa remains challenging. He criticized the situation, noting that travelers are often subjected to extortion by security personnel at borders.
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“We talk about free movement, we hear about free movement but we can say that there is no free movement between the ECOWAS states.
“When you want to cross the borders, they will collect money from you even if you have all your travel documents with you. If you refuse, they will force you out of the vehicle and ask the driver to go.
“So, we have cases where the drivers leave the passengers and go simply because they (passengers) refuse to give security officials money”.
Koivogui, revealed that receipts was not issued for illegal payments, and urged ECOWAS to carry out more sensitization at the community level.
According to him, when community citizens citizens are well-informed, it would be impossible for security agents to extort them at the borders.
“I want the ECOWAS to organize more awareness programmes on ECOWAS protocols both for the citizens and the officers because we realized also that some officers at the borders don’t even know the protocols of ECOWAS,” he added.
Other stakeholders, such as representatives from Chambers of Commerce and Industry, transport and market unions, as well as market women associations and labor groups, shared Koivogui’s views.
