Pre-Audit Session With Eu Pillar Champions: A Step Towards Greater Compliance With International Standards For The ECOWAS Commission

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission is organising a four-day pre-audit working session with the champions of the EU pillar from various Directorates, including the Directorate of Administration & General Services, Directorate of Financial Reporting and Grants, Directorate of External Relations, the Directorate of Human Resources, Directorate of Budget and Treasury, Directorate of Audit, Legal Directorate. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Office of the President and the office of the Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, and the Commissioner of Internal Services of the ECOWAS Commission. This event takes place from 19 to 22 November 2024 in Niger, Nigeria.

The main objective of the session is to prepare the ECOWAS Commission for an upcoming audit on the EU Pillar and to ensure greater compliance with international standards.

The specific objectives are to review and assess the ECOWAS Commission’s current systems, processes and procedures, share lessons learned from the ECOWAS Commission’s benchmarking mission with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in preparation for the EU pillar assessment, identify areas of non-compliance and develop corrective action plans, strengthen the capacity of the ECOWAS Commission to directly implement EU-funded projects and programmes, strengthen relations between the ECOWAS Commission and the EU, strengthen ECOWAS’ compliance with international standards in areas identified by the ECOWAS Commission.

Representing GIZ Mr Franck-Emery MONGBE, in his opening speech, acknowledged the Commission’s commitment to respecting international standards in all business processes as part of its certification journey.

In His opening remarks, Prof. Nazifi Abdullahi Darma, Commissioner of Internal Services of the ECOWAS Commission stated that this mission will permit to Identify strategies and best practices that can be applied to improve ECOWAS’s readiness for the EU Pillar Assessment, but also develop a targeted action plan that addresses areas for improvement within ECOWAS, particularly in financial management, procurement, and internal control and enhance the capacity of ECOWAS staff to ensure alignment with international standard in the domain listed.
He also recalled that management was fully aware of the new conditions of EU, and « we should ensure that our 2025 workplan incorporates these new provisions so that we can be compliant with international best practices. »

He thanked GIZ and the EU for their support over the years and the Pillar Champions for their commitment to this process with their busy schedule.