Regulation C/REG.24/12/03 on the Operationalisation of the ECOWAS Energy Observatory


Economic Community of West African States

Regulation C/REG.24/12/03 on the Operationalisation of the ECOWAS Energy Observatory

The Council of Ministers,Mindful of articles 10, 11 and 12 of the ECOWAS Treaty establishing the Council of Ministers and defining its composition and functions;Mindful of decision A/DEC.3/5/82 on the ECOWAS energy policy;Mindful of decision A/DEC.5/12/99 setting up a West African Power Pool (WAPP);Bearing in mind the aims and objectives of ECOWAS which are the promotion of economic cooperation and integration for the purpose of establishing an economic union to improve the welfare of its peoples, maintaining and increasing economic stability, cementing relations between the Member States and contributing to the progress and development of the African continent;Aware of the need to coordinate the efforts of the Member States to implement the ECOWAS priority plans of action for the interconnection of infrastructures;Convinced of the need to render the energy observatory operational without loss of time in order to endow the sub-region with a functional information and communication system to warn Member States of possible short-falls in energy levels, and identify preventive measures against such eventualities;Considering the resources provided by donors of the WAPP project for equipment, technical assistance and capacity building, as well as the human, material and financial resources contributed by the national electricity companies;On the recommendation of the meeting of Ministers in charge of Energy held in Dakar on 7 November 2003;ENACTS

Article 1

1.The organogramme for the basic structure and the programme of action of the energy observatory attached hereto are hereby approved;
2.The Executive Secretariat is hereby authorised to launch the observatory with a skeleton staff comprising the Coordinator and two specialist engineers, an accountant and a secretary;
3.The accountant and secretary shall be recruited locally.

Article 2

During the initial 3-year transition period the Executive Secretariat shall earmark the sum of US$ 31,000 (thirty one thousand dollars only) for the requirements of the observatory.

Article 3

The salaries of the staff seconded to the observatory shall be aligned with the salary scale of the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat. Staff salaries shall be paid by the electricity companies from which they are seconded.

Article 4

1Contributions from the Member States shall be paid into a bank account opened in Cotonou in the name of the observatory.
2Procedure governing expenditure shall be conformity with the ECOWAS Tender Code and the Financial Regulations and Manual of Accounting Procedures.

Article 5

1.The following arrangements are hereby adopted:The Minister of Energy of Benin shall appoint the Managing Director of the Societe Beninoise d'Eau et d'Electricite (Beninese Water and Electricity Company) as the Chief Authorising Officer, and The Coordinator shall be the Deputy Authorising Officer.
2.Funds shall consequently be allocated for the adopted arrangements.

Article 6

This Regulation shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community by the Executive Secretariat within thirty (30) days after signature by the current Chairman of the Council of Ministers.It shall also be published within the same time frame in the Official Gazette of each Member State.
Done at Accra this 18th day of December 2003.Hon. (Dr) Kofi Konadu AprakuChairman for Council
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