Wednesday, July 29, 2015

PODCAST:>>Ep.43: SPECIAL: Talking Points around #ECOWAS@40(4): One-on-one with former ECOWAS Official Frank Ofei

EPISODE #43
Research & Co-ordination: E.K.Bensah Jr
Executive Producer: E.K.Bensah Jr
Technical  Producer: D.J. Stagger

Dear friends, 

In ep.43 of #AfricainFocusShow, we did something a little different around the "Talking Points around #Ecowas@40.

We had a one-on-one with former Ecowas official Frank Ofei on aspects of Ecowas' integration, which was timely as the 47th Ordinary Session of Ecowas was underway here in Accra.

 It was also timely because Ecowas turned 40 on 28 May!

 The difference for 19 May's edition was that, given how some of us have been studying and monitoring Ecowas for a decade-plus, & calling for it to be more accountable to the average ECOWAS Community citizen, it was important to also include a small appreciation of the theory of regional integration so listeners appreciate how powerful this Ecowas bloc is when pitted against the larger global context.
ECOWAS obviously turned 40 on 28 May, but what does ECOWAS need to quickly do over the next ten years to ensure it remains relevant and meaningful for its citizens?

We also used the show to briefly touch on how ECOWAS sits in the grand scheme of regional integration theories, such as neo-functionalism, which sees member states of a grouping cooperating; collaborating on specific projects (such as Liberian intervention by Nigerian-led ECOMOG in 1989) to such an extent that it spills over to cooperating on other projects in the furtherance of integration.

To speak to these, and many more questions, we had a very important discussion with former ECOWAS official Frank Ofei.

Guiding questions
  • ·        There’s a crisis brewing in Burundi. In the absence of a Peace & Security Architecture comparable to ECOWAS’ what lessons can that region learn from ECOWAS to inform how they manage the crisis?
  • ·        ECOWAS’ free movement has meant that more than 70pct of the migrants have originated from the sub-region. How has ECOWAS been actively seized on the migrant crisis, given its collaboration with Spain since 2008?
  • ·        How have #ECOWAS40 celebrations been so far throughout the sub-region, and what is your assessment of how other ECOWAS Day celebrations have been? How, for example, was #ECOWAS30 celebrations?
  • ·        What are some of the economic integration-related issues we need to look out for from the ECOWAS Summit underway?
  • ·        Is it not time for the revised 1993 ECOWAS Treaty to be revised to reflect realities; structures; and institutions of 2015?
Kindly find a link to download the podcast below, and enjoy "Africa in Focus" Show's episode#43:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ycdjikgm5hbb16l/AFRICAN%20IN%20FOCUS%2019-05-2015.mp3?dl=0

Just in case you missed it: "Africa in Focus Show" is the ONLY weekly magazine on Ghanaian radio explaining; unpacking; demystifying ECOWAS; AU; and South-South cooperation policies around Africa's integration. We are airborne every Tuesday from 13h00 to 15h00 GMT. All podcasts are available for download on www.africainfocusradioshow.org  Follow the conversation using #AfricainFocus


Kind regards,

Emmanuel


www.africainfocusradioshow.org
www.twitter.com/africainfocus14
www.twitter.com/eastafricarisng

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