RESTRUCTURING OF THE SECRETARIAT

What all these add up to is that the loads put on the ECOWA<.) sec re ta ri a t have increased manyfold and will continue to increase in the future. Therefore, its capabiIitics and its capacities rcq uire careful assessment, Its structure, and the systems and procedures governing its functioning, require critical appraisal, Its very role and purpose require further study and reflection.

This chapter focuses on se lec tive institutional and other issues related to the .ecrc ta r iat of ECOWAS. Like other contributions in this volu m e it is not intended to he exha ustive in its exa m ina tio n of these issu es: further research and analysis is required on the su bject-a reas

CO\U1..'d.

RESTRUCTURING OF THE SECRETARIAT

Periodic ("('\Il'W S () the strur ture and functioning of ny organization ^.irr- vvventia l pre-requisites for improving overall

performance, I'r"dlllti\ity, relevance and impact. Accordingly,

ECOWA~h.IShad it." vhare of such reviews and studi . The reports of the minivtcrial evaluation committee (1(H~-I-) and v rious working groups are examples. Rl'ccntJ), the l DP-fu nd -d proj 't d igned to enhance ECOWA'i institutional rapa c ity has produr d rep rts and studies on different as pen s of institutional r .Iorrns and human resourr development and rnanagcm nt, I th within and ou id th fra m ewor k of this pro]c t the implement tion th wide-ra ngi ng recommendations advanced will go a long w: y in inrr asi ng the capacities and ap a b il i t ies of the s rctari l. Th ~ fin d ings and conclusions ofsu h ex rei ar ' of hro d r levan to the pr 0

review ⁰ the I:C \i STr at) . II w ver, it shou ld h not d that til \ institutional pert that .rc over d in th ' "Ir a t) r 'i \\ r l.u t corresponding c tion in th ' I()7 5 Tr 'at) or tha t .h uld ind th ir

\\'a) into a vi ed trc ty,

The Executive Secret ary

The d ignation 0 the hi ex cu t i of th riat . Exe cu t iv e Se retary (Art. p: fa. ) limi hi rol vi. -a-vi th th r organs of the C mmunity and the rr t riat i s If. By defi ni t ion ,

53

room for taking initiatives and for taking action outside of decisions handed down to him by other parties is restricted. On the other hand, contemporary realities dictate that he should have a free hand in directing the affairs of the legislative and all other bodies and in the management of resources once the broad policies have been determined by the policy-making bodies. More appropriately, then, it is proposed that the title of the post shouldbe chnaged from ExecutiveSecretary to Se<.TCtaI)' General.

On the functions attached to the post there is need for a re-definition. Given the fact that the sub-regional economic groupings are expected to function along the same broad lines as the African Economic Community (AEC) it is instructive to refer to the functions of the MC Secretary-General. These are to:

(a) follow up and ensure the implementation of the decisions of the Assembly and the application of the regulations of the Council;

(b) promote development programmes as well as projects of the Community;

(c) prepare proposals concerning the programme of activity and budget of the Community and upon their approval by the Assembly ensure the implementation thereof;

(d) submit a report on the activities of the Community to all meetings of the Assembly, the Council and Commission;

(e) prepare and service meetings of the Assembly, the Council, the Commission and the Committees;

(f) carry out studies with a view to attaining the objectives of the Community and make proposals likely to enhance the functioning and harmonious development of the Community. To this end, the Secretary-General may request any member State to furnish him with all necessary information, and

(g) recruit the staff of the Community and make appointments to all posts except those referred to in paragraph 3 (f) of Article 8 of this Treaty.

In actua li ty, all of these responsib il ities are currently, exercised by the ECOWAS Executive Secr etary. However, it is necessa ry for the revised Treat)' to give legal recogn it ion to the expanded functions and responsibilities of its chief officer.

54

R ga rd in g the appointment of the Exeru tiv e Secretary. unlik hi ^'1110\';;11 which ^(-.111 onl) beupon the recomrucndati onof the Council of Ministcrs. the Aurhority is csiunutcd as the organ solely r spo nsiblc. ^< rt. Xp.lra.2)2. Obv ious ly , this leaves the supreme organ of the Co m m u n ity ope n to cr itici s m in case of error in the

"I xtion and will definitely also affect its status and standing if it

makes the wrong choice. B sides, it is anomalous that a subsidiary body pl.l) sa determining roll' at the removal stage hut has no to say in the. ppoi n trncn t stage,

The Treat) is silent on the selection process to he followed in the appointment of the Exe c u tive Secretary. As the ECA/ECOWAS report entitled Propo sals for the Rationalisation of West African lntegr.llion IJf()n\ (1()87) notes: "For the member Statesto he given no guide-lines and the Co m m u n ity to have no means of vetting nominations to the top management (Statutory) posts in the institutions is to run the risk of not having mature and co m pe te n t , qualified and experienced leaders at the helm or uffuirs. free of an) pressure that nominating countries rna) he tempted to zxe rt" <pA3).

The prarurc has been for suuutory posts to he allocated to particular member States who then have primal)' r spons ih ility for nominating .u i ui hl candidates3. Artir l' H .ccms to provide some legal basis fo r th is practice. However. it is ap p a re n t that it is has .d mort.' on an und rstand ing, a gentlemen's. rrec mcn t or p YLxI mt, than anything else. For the post of Excrut ivc Se cretary . gh' n it inrr a ingly important role and the predictable cxpan ion in rang , and 'it pc 01rcsponsihilities it i impera tive that it he fill d on th ' basts f form al rcrruitrncru prorcdur -s. ~l o J e r n me-thods of

recruitment or hicf cxcr u tiv s include ope-n ^.11I\, .rti cmo nt.

vhortlisting of the h st qualified r.mdidat 'S. interview h) . om pc tcn t panel, and final scl rtio n . lhe l'rclercnti I Trade S 0 iation I r Easter n and Southern Africa (I

r )

2 _{Similarly, co}n fl r rna t io n of the appolrurn .n t () the Ex cu t ivc S rot ary is h) the Aut hority, on the r ornrn .ndaiio n f t h Cou n il

o r

after a probation p ri d of ix mo nth s of ati facto ry ervi c ( c, for ' mpl I i i n ' HI-' 7/85).

The same p artie of r qu ring a rncrnb 'r Su t ' to n rninat a nauonal ^w; ~ n in th ' in tanr 0 ihc

rcplar m mt 0 an E' wh ha

cornpl c t donI) nc term

r

und r "ta n d i ng bein g tha t a country^I n min " a l:x rutivc S rr t I) h uld rv r ap riod 0 t\\

te rm .

55

completely eliminated in the process. Nevertheless, the existing selection method in ECOWA<; thrives on politics; compared to modern recruitment systems it is anachronistic and outmoded. As ha-, often been observed, integration is a technical enterprise and must be managed, first and foremost, by technocrats. Nationality , linguistic and geographical considerations, and similar critcri.r should he secondary to technical and professional competence. ,H cumulated relevant experience, leadership qualities, and the like.

Similar considerations are applicable to the positions of Deputy Executive Secretaries and other statutory officers. Art.8 paraA of the Treaty stipulates that the Deputy Executive Secretaries shall he appointed by the Council of Ministers. Unlike the GAll, their tenure of office is concurrent with that of the Executive Secretary; any variations are due to the exact date of assumption of duty. However, like the OAli the chief executive does not have an input in the selection process. Furthermore, the practice of rotation of these offices among member States and automatic acceptance of the nominees of the assigned memher States has obvious shortcomings. Both elements call for urgent redress. 111e modem recruitment method proposed for the Executive Secretary can be applied, mutatis mutandis, in the case of the Deputy Executive Secretaries.

For both these and other statutory posts an alternative to the method proposed above would be for potential candidates to be limited to a particular linguistic or other category and an advisory committee set up to do the screening and conduct the interviews. Their recommendations should go directly to the Authority of Heads of State and Government for final selection.

On this issue the ECAIECOWAS report referred to before makes a valuable contribution, quoted verbatim below:

"TIle Community should provide in its Treaty for a nomination commiuee that is made up of the Chairman of the Council, two each of top civil servants (heads of public service commissions) renowned academicians and top executives of reputable international institutions (e.g. ADB, ECA). The nomination committee -hich might thus have seven members should, within a year, formulate guidelines and conditions for the selection of the Executive Secretary and his Deputies, Financial Controller, Managing Directors and their Deputies and Executive Directors or their equivalent. The provision should be made in the ECOW~Treaty"

Personnel Recruitment System and Procedures

Concern about the quality of the professional personnel in the ECOWAS Secretariat is real. In his 1989/1990 Annual Report the .... yutive Secretary stated as follows:

56

"The mode of recruitment by means of the quota S)stem for profc sio n a l statt. the absenr c of ca r ee r prospects, the present wor king onviro nrnc n t and low remuneration are all factors that work ag: inst the selection and retention of the most qualified or an assu ra n ce of maximum cffkicncy, Some of the professional staff, though qualified, may have had no sectoral expertise to enable them esta blis h a strong professional presence in the Community projects, there arc generalists where specialization is required. In 13 years of ope ra tio n ,[COWA~ ought to have developed sub-regional institutions of excellence through its recruitment procedures. This, alas. has not happened". (p.87).

Thus, recruitment of personnel to the secretariat, particularly those in the professional category, is a major problem area. First and foremost, it is based on the allocation of posts to specific countries. In actually filling the post the existing method iii an advance on the previous practice where only one candidate w ...s nominated by the country concerned and his su ita bility rarely cha lle nged . Wh ..u now prevails is that when an established po t b 'om 's vacant the country to which it is allocated iii requested to suhmit a lis; of three ca n d id a te s who arc subject to an interview: the names are then pres ented, in order of preference. to the Ex ru tive Secre ta ry or his decision. In the instance of a newly-creal post general criteria are employed in determining the ountry to which it iii to he allora t d before the above procedure is then applied.

The first point to note is that the Treaty provision on the subject (Art.8 para,i) explicitly provide th.u in making upp intmcnts due regard should he paid to maintain ing .10 equitable distribution of posts among citizens of mcmb r :tat~ . What this call'\ fo r, in cff L, is a quota sy ste m in which, based on clearly defined cril 'ria, a glohal number of po.ts is granted to each member Stale. It do 's not r iq u i rc that this allocation he predetermined. in terms 0 the P ~cilic postx, of the spccifi« grades, 01 the particular organi zational units,an d on .1

permanent basis. "Equitable distribution 01 posts," whe the r through .l quota system or otherwise, merely r qu ire s that ar h cou n t ry he provided an opportunity to h~ rcpr entcd in the Se .rcta ri.n , in maxima and,vimctirn ', 111 minima,

lurthcrrnore. Art.S para.7 tate a condition which is overriding i.e. that the ) 'te rn sho uld he " ubic l t the p amou n t importance of eru r ing th ' hig h SL tandard of .f irien \ and technical competent" .". I hiv pia cs a higher premium on qualifirations. ~lIil.lhilil) .md ahili t) to per or rn. It is overrid ing in that it is the pr imury rcqui r '01 mt or yard ti k again s t which considcrationv 01 co u ntry of origi n hould he r luted or the'quota sy stem applied. Rath r. it appe rs that at pr ni th ' ord zr h. '\ h -n rever ed . War e till, clfiri nr y stan d...rds and t xhnic ...1romp t 'nr rna) he campi tel) ignore d .1Ill.1 nat io n ... lit) taken .1\ the vol '

57

deterrnining factor. As rightly stressed in the LeA report en ti tied Proposals for Strengthening Economic Integration in West Africa (1984):

"Member States are not uniformly endowed with manpower resources. Admittedly, all the member States should be represented at the management of the Community, but this idea should not he implemented at the expense of effectiveness. The best brains cannot be recruited for the service of the Community because their respective countries' quota have been exhausted. In the alternative, member States are wont to have their eyes on certain positions in the bureaucracy to ^he filled ^by their nationals, whether or not they should be the right material for the posts. In either case it is the Community that suffers.

"Unless member States cease to regard administrative and professional positions as benefits of economic co-operation to he shared, it is not likely that much progress would be made in recruiting staff of high calibre for the services of the Community". (p.

77).

In this regard, it is ironic that para.S of the same Article demands, from the officials loyalty, entirely to the Community in the discharge of their duties, as opposed to allegiance to their countries of origin. Obviously, the existing system does not encourage the evolution of a Community esprit de corps. It is to be expected that as the member State or national government is granted a key role at the recruitment stage, it will be called upon to intervene in the resolution of any problems experienced in the course of the careers of their nationals in the secretariat. All this despite the fact that staff members now take an Oath of Office and, in cases, an Oath of Secrecy.

With this and related observations in mind it may be necessary to include in the revised ECOWAS Treaty relevant provisions in the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community, as follows:

"In the performance of their duties, the Secretary General and his Assistants, the Financial Controller, the Accountant and the staff of the Community shall be accountable only to the Community. In this regard, they shall neither seek nor accept instructions from any Government or any national or international authority external to the Community. They shall refrain from any conduct incompatible with the nature of their status as international officers.

"Every member State undertakes to respect the international character of the duties of the Secretary General, his Assistants, the Financial Controller, the Accountant and other officers of the Community and undertakes not to influence them in the performance of their du ties ." (Article 24)

58

rt, <) para. () of the Treaty for the Establishment of the PTA he: irnil: r provisions.

The .it ua tio n prevailing has a number of other implications, sam>ofwhich an' listed below:

(a) the possibility of the secretariat benefiting from the vast pool of expert knowledge and skills in the region is restricted;

(b) the chances of recruiting incompetent persons are mrreased, thereby compromising performance:

(e) the decision, at member State level, as to nominees for posts may he influenced hy factors highly irrelevant to the job requirements:

(d) the prospects for upward mobility within the secretariat arc reduced; in fact, for most staff, there may not he any advancement throughout their careers.

This has diverse repercussions on morale. motivation, loyalty and commitment and, ultimately, performance;

(5) the ability of the secretariat to plan and implement effective human resources development programmes is circumscribed.

In summary, there is no gainsaying the fact that as in the se of top management in the secretariat modem recruitment systems and procedures must be introduced lor all professional posts regard! iss of grade. Consideration should be given to re .r u it m c n t by open competition based on well-defined job descriptions and the most appropriate post profiles, both globally and for different organizational units. A4) noted before, this need not be t the xpc n sc of equitable geogruphirul distribution. Rather. this principle would he of consequence throughout the proc and not he the ' lusive farto r at the very beginning of the proc

Finally, it should ' noted that orne prog is 'ing rna · in the right direction, ba sed on a rccogniti n of th "n d to 'i w the existing quota sy tern u:cd in th r 'ruitme nt of mi r f int the Institutions of the .om m u nlty and r i tri b ut qu ta nd n n-quo posts". This was applied in I i ion D: .10/61 ofth un '10 Ministers which provided that the po t of I ir t rs and of professional staff on gra d P5 h II quota po . Prof! ion I

from PI to P'+ and all post in the l.ingui ti Divi i n and in the Community Comput r Cen tre are al non-quota . Furth on the earlier Deri ion 'IDEe. 17/87 of th ounc il f tini te m exception to th quota y t m in the r ru itm nt t fill th ' p experts in the Comp ute r en tre. It provid d that " \ nt p

59

should be widely advertised in all member States and recruitment based on free competition in order to attract the best computer experts in the sub-region".

It may beargued that though these changes are most welcomed the damage has already been done as the Secretariat is saddled with professionals recruited under the old system who cannot now be removed. It is hoped that through training and other means the quality of such personnel can still be improved in an effort to right the wrongs of yesteryear,

Machinery for Administrative and Budgetary Review

The Administration and finance Commission (AFC) is primarily responsible for reviewing the operational budgets of the ECOWAS Secretariat and Fund. Roth in its composition and functioning a number of difficulties have been experienced. first, the desired level of expertise in budgetary and administrative matters ls not always brought to bear in the work of this body. Second, the depth and breadth of experience required for penetrating reviews of budgetary and financial management is often lacking. Third, there is lack of continuity in membership and representation. Fourth, the functions and responsibilities of this commission are rather narrowly circumscri bed.

Particularly in the light of Oec.12/7/91 and the ensuing rationalization of IGOs in the ECOWAS sub-region the work of such a body will acquire increased importance within the decision-making

Particularly in the light of Oec.12/7/91 and the ensuing rationalization of IGOs in the ECOWAS sub-region the work of such a body will acquire increased importance within the decision-making