ECOWAS Financing: A Reflection Of Sovereignty, Regional Leadership
By Ifeanyi Onuba
The Economic Community of West African States is one of the regional pillars of cooperation and integration in West Africa. In fact, ECOWAS has played a major role in encouraging economic growth, political stability, and security in the region since its creation in 1975. In recent times, there has been an element of deliberate misinformation on the financing of ECOWAS, with wild claims that the organization is controlled and funded by foreign powers, particularly France.
This is not only a lie but also an attempt to bring down the credibility and independence of ECOWAS. In fact, ECOWAS is self-funded through contributions from its member states, thereby reiterating the principle of self-reliance and regional ownership. The actual financial structure and decision-making processes of ECOWAS can only be understood by looking at its funding mechanisms, governance, and its role as a leading sub-regional organization in Africa.
ECOWAS is mostly self-financed through an already well-established mechanism called the ‘Community Levy’. This is levied among member states and accounts for about 90 per cent of the annual budget.
The organization derives a percentage of the import duties payable by each member country on goods imported into their territories and remits it to ECOWAS. It provides a secure and predictable source of revenue to enable ECOWAS to implement its programs and activities without being excessively dependent on external donors.
The rest 10 per cent of the funding often comes from international partners who provide support for specific projects in areas such as peacekeeping, infrastructure development, and capacity-building.
It is instructive to state that these external contributions do not determine the policies or priorities of ECOWAS. The decisions on the use of funds, the strategic direction of the organization, and the implementation of programs are all made by the leadership of ECOWAS itself, comprising the Heads of State and Governments of its member nations*.
Damaging fallacies propagated about ECOWAS include those that indicate the Organization is funded and thus controlled by France, an argument that has majorly been used to dismiss every move made by the organization in a bid to show it lacks autonomy, which is not true.
The budget for ECOWAS is mainly catered for by the contributions made by its member states and not foreign governments. The ECOWAS decision-making structure is autonomous and inward-driven by the West African leaders. There is no foreign country, including France, that dictates the policies and operations of the ECOWAS.
While France has various diplomatic and economic engagements with West African countries, just like many other international actors, it neither provides the core funding to ECOWAS nor dictates the influence on its governance. Such sustained promotion of this false narrative aims to destroy confidence in ECOWAS, undermine its authority, and damage regional cohesion. It is, therefore, important that misinformations of this nature be confronted with the truth while reaffirming the sovereignty of ECOWAS as an African-led institution.
This fact also reflects the autonomous nature of ECOWAS in its governance structure. The Conference of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS makes all important decisions within the organization and is the highest decision-making body of the organization. It makes these decisions during summits that bring together the Presidents and Prime Ministers of member-states.
In fact, no policy is assumed before exhausting consultations at multi-levels comprising meetings of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, sectoral ministers, and ECOWAS technical committees’ contribution for taking the input from the 15 member states.
Accordingly, the decisions of the Heads of State are then actualized by the ECOWAS Commission, which is the administrative arm of the organization. In the execution of its work programs, the Commission works in close liaison with other regional institutions in implementing programs within specific areas like trade, infrastructure, peace and security, and human development.
This systematic and all-encompassing way of decision-making within the institution simply bespeaks ownership and management of ECOWAS by West Africans for West Africans. It is not an institution manipulated by any external forces but a platform through which member states collectively address regional challenges and opportunities.
At the same time, ECOWAS is the oldest but most advanced regional economic community in Africa. It has been in the frontline position for regional integration, economic cooperation, and security interventions for almost five decades. Among these are free movement of people, security, economic integration, and democratic stability.
So far, the ECOWAS has been able to send peacekeeping missions into Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, and The Gambia, while its Trade Liberalisation Scheme promotes trade among the member states through reducing tariffs and trade barriers.
Successful, ECOWAS has served as a model for other African regional economic communities. In 2024, representatives from regional organisations in Central, Southern, and Northern Africa visited ECOWAS to learn from its experiences and best practices. This only goes to point out the leading role that this organization is playing on the continent, setting the pace as it were in regional integration and cooperation.
It is one of the most robust and resilient organizations, deeply committed to the development of West Africa. Its financing model is transparently self-sustaining, driven by the contribution of its member states themselves. That ECOWAS is controlled or financed by France is a deliberate falsehood aimed at discrediting its achievements and weakening regional unity.
Thus, in the face of misinformation, it becomes very important that governments, media, and civil society across West Africa come out to defend the truth and uphold the integrity of ECOWAS. The credibility of the organization is very important in engendering trust among the people it serves, and such an attempt at eroding that credibility must be countered with facts.
West Africa stands at a critical juncture, facing economic, security, and political challenges that require collective action. A strong, independent, and well-funded ECOWAS is not just an option—it is a necessity. Member states must continue to strengthen their commitment to ECOWAS, ensuring that it remains a pillar of unity, development, and stability for generations to come.
Ifeanyi Onuba, a Chartered Accountant, sent this piece from Abuja
