The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Parliament) will hold its Extraordinary Session in Winneba in the Effutu Constituency of the Central Region in September, 2023.
Holding the session in Winneba is praiseworthy given that such important large gatherings are almost always held in the Capital cities of host countries where adequate facilities tend to readily available.
But the decision to hold the session in Winneba was championed by the Ghanaian delegation in Liberia for the Joint Delocalized Meeting, led by Deputy Majority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for the Effutu Constituency, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin.
Mr Afenyo-Markin interacting with journalists after the Delocalized Meeting in Liberia said that hosting the Extraordinary Session in Winneba and not Accra is meant to “bring governance to the door steps of the very people who we governed and as well create the opportunity for the region by way of putting it on the visibility map to create a positive opportunity for development”.
He assured the Parliament that Winneba, the capital of his constituency, was well-resourced and ready to host them again and prove that such programmes can be held successfully outside capital cities of countries.
“There are enough facilities to host them and like I did indicate, we hope to make it a pleasurable time, profitable time for all; we encourage all of you to come and take part in the programme,” he assured.
“I will advise my colleagues to take advantage and plan with their governments
We cannot always over concentrate in the capital cities; we need to move out and spread opportunity to the people…We are optimistic that this will be better than before. The Ghanaian government will put in place the necessary protocols for all MPs, focal persons and staffs, security arrangements would be in place, Winneba which is the capital of my constituency is just an hour drive from Accra on a good road,” he added.
“ECOWAS Parliament is ready to move to Winneba for the second time. The first time we came, my colleagues of the Parliament have been putting pressure on me for the past six months for them to go back to Winneba, and the kind of hospitality that we got from the Ghanaian government, especially through Alexander Afenyo-Markin, we are very pleased to be back” Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Sidie Mohammed Tunis had confirmed.
Thousands of persons including MPs, experts and journalists are expected to attend the session in Winneba come September 2023
