By Mabinty M. Kamara
Finance Ministers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have postponed the election of the president of its regional bank after they failed to agree on a consensus candidate at a meeting in Freetown this week.
Three candidates were shortlisted for the head of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) and the successful candidate was expected to be unveiled at the 17th Ordinary Meeting of the Board of Governors of the bank, convened in the Sierra Leonean capital on Monday.
"Unfortunately the president is not elected today," Sierra Leone's Finance Minister, Jacob Jusu Saffa, told journalists moments after a marathon closed door deliberation by the Finance Ministers of the member countries, who make up the board of governors of the bank.
The election was among key major decisions expected to have come out of the meeting convened at the Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko Hotel.
The nominated candidates were from Ghana, The Gambia and Senegal.
Mr Saffa said they couldn't agree on anyone of them because it proved to be a tough decision for the board. But he added that a decision on it was rescheduled for 15th November at an Extraordinary Session of the Board in Togo.
The successful candidate is expected to replace Nigerian Bashirr Mamman Ifo, whose second four year term ends today, October 9.
The process of appointing the president entails a screening of nominees by an interview board, which then forwards the names to the Board of Governors to choose one from them.
"But it was not easy. So the option was to go into elections, but normally with regional blocks it is good to keep the equation,” said Saffa.
As the financial arm of ECOWAS, EBID’s mandate is to intervene both in private and public sector development of its member states.
The Freetown meeting notably featured presentation of a financial statement to the Board for approval.
Muctarr Coulibaly, Secretary General of EBID, told press men on the eve of the meeting that it was the most important gathering of the bank held in a year.
According to the rules of engagement, as host of the board meeting, Sierra Leone assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Board of Governors of the bank, meaning that for the next one year, Saffa, as Finance Minister, will chair the 15-member board.
Saffa told reporters that being Board chairman opens up a lot of opportunities for Sierra Leone, as projects already on the pipeline for the country are likely to be fast tracked. He said he will also ensure effective resource mobilization for the bank and encourage member countries to pay up their arrears, an issue that featured prominently in the statement of his predecessor.
At the moment, only about two countries are said to have paid fully their dues to the bank.
Saffa acknowledged the strides of the outgoing president of the Bank for his hard work, dedication and commitment in preserving and promoting the bank as one of the leading financial institutions in the sub region during his tenure.
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