ECOWAS: Establishment and Early Cooperation

The Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, arose from efforts to extend regional economic cooperation beyond linguistic and political groupings. Liberian President William Tubman proposed a West African free-trade area in 1964 and promoted talks with neighboring states. Divergent national interests and political divisions between English- and French-speaking countries made it difficult to turn early initiatives into a unified organization.

In 1972, Nigerian leader Yakubu Gowon and Togolese President Gnassingbé Eyadéma established a cooperation arrangement open to other countries. Support from Togo, Dahomey and Niger helped Nigeria secure participation by more Francophone states. The 1975 community was therefore a treaty organization jointly created by governments through negotiation, rather than an instrument of expansion by a single state.

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On May 28, 1975, fifteen countries signed the founding treaty in Lagos, Nigeria. Signatories included Nigeria, Togo, Dahomey and Upper Volta, together with The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Dahomey and Upper Volta were later renamed Benin and Burkina Faso respectively.

The United Nations registration distinguished two dates: the treaty entered into force provisionally on signature and definitively on June 20 after seven states had ratified under their national procedures. It required phased reductions in internal tariffs and trade restrictions, promotion of the movement of people, services and capital, and coordination of agricultural, industrial, transport and energy policies. These were common obligations to implement gradually, not evidence that a barrier-free market already existed on signing day.

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The original treaty placed the Authority of Heads of State and Government at the center of decision-making and required it to meet at least annually. The Council of Ministers, comprising two representatives from each country, met twice yearly to review community operations and direct subordinate bodies. If a state opposed a proposal and did not withdraw its objection, the matter had to be referred to the heads of state and government.

The Executive Secretariat handled daily business, studies and reports. The Executive Secretary served a four-year term renewable once, supported by two deputies and financial-control personnel. Staff were to owe allegiance to the community rather than take instructions from their home governments. The treaty also provided for a community tribunal and four technical commissions covering trade, customs and population movement; industry and agriculture; transport, telecommunications and energy; and social and cultural affairs. Establishing a body in the treaty did not prove that all of its activities had begun at once.

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The community's operating budget was supported by annual member-state contributions and other sources approved by the council. The Executive Secretary prepared the draft for council approval, with income and expenditure in principle balanced. Members had to contribute regularly; for arrears, the treaty allowed the Authority to suspend participation in institutional activities, while permitting exceptions for circumstances such as severe disasters.

The Fund for Co-operation, Compensation and Development had separate funding and purposes. Sources included member contributions, income from community enterprises and external bilateral, multilateral and other funding. Uses included financing projects, compensating losses caused by trade liberalization or enterprise location, and supporting less-developed members. It was not another name for the secretariat's administrative funds, nor did the treaty equate any single start-up payment with the fund's total size.

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Early operations first required personnel and financial rules. At its Lagos meeting in November 1977, the Council of Ministers adopted staff and financial regulations and provisionally treated an accounting manual as a working document. It confirmed two deputy executive secretaries from Guinea and Ghana and a deputy fund head from Benin, showing the need for people from different member states to work together in common institutions.

The meeting also faced coordination problems between the secretariat and fund, commissioning an investigative group chaired by The Gambia with Sierra Leone, Benin and Mali participating. For studies and technical assistance involving the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the council stressed prior review of financial responsibilities and avoidance of duplicate research. Cross-border cooperation thus also involved everyday adjustments to recruitment, accounts and project authorization.

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The May 1979 council report from Dakar translated economic cooperation into specific texts. Delegates discussed harmonizing customs systems and required the French definition of value added in the rules of origin to match the English text. If the same rule meant different things in different languages, national customs authorities would struggle to apply a common standard.

Nor did proposing a telecommunications project mean immediate construction. Although experts had supported a technical training center, the council did not directly approve building it because of its cost and complexity. Instead, it asked the fund head and Executive Secretary to identify financing and report back with a viable funding proposal. These records document joint deliberation and preparation; projects still under study should not be described as completed achievements.

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On May 29, 1979, states signed the Protocol relating to Free Movement of Persons, Residence and Establishment in Dakar. It began with entry and visa exemptions, with residence and establishment addressed in stages. Citizens of member states holding valid travel documents and international health certificates could enter through official border crossings without visas for stays not exceeding ninety days. Extensions still required permission, and states retained the right to refuse persons legally inadmissible.

The protocol also required countries to submit specimen travel documents to the Executive Secretariat for circulation and verification among members. Shared goals thus connected to the documents and procedures border personnel actually used. The 1975 founding treaty, subsequent institution-building and the specific 1979 protocol were linked stages, not an entire regional integration process completed by one announcement.

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