The European Union Delegation to Nigeria and German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), on Friday donated IT equipment to the ECOWAS Commission as technical support to ensure effective service delivery of the Commission’s staff.
The EU and GIZ donated the equipment to the Commission in Abuja at the official launch of the EU-funded Institutional Support to ECOWAS (ISE) programme.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ISE programme is aimed at enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency, and impact of the EU aid in West Africa.
Mrs Cecile Tassin-Pelzer, Head of Cooperation, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, said that the programme was developed to train internal personnel who will in turn train staff of the Commission.
She explained that the Internal Trainers will support in conducting regular training for old and new staff of the ECOWAS Commission.
“It is my pleasure to welcome you to the formal launch of the EU-funded Institutional Support to ECOWAS Programme. The 4.85-million Euro Programme is co-funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic cooperation and Development and implemented by the GIZ.
“Today, we hand over equipment purchased under the programme to support the training center and celebrate the graduation of the center’s first set on internal ECOWAS Trainers.
“The Institutional Support Programme launched today was developed as a follow-up to previous programmes to strengthen the Public Finance Management and Institutional Reforms initiated by ECOWAS.
“The programme began in December 2020 and aims to ensure that the ECOWAS Commission, as well as the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), attain international standards in finance, audit, accounting and human resource.
“This programme has provided support for the validation process of revised ECOWAS Staff regulation support towards the preparation of harmonised Human resource policies and procedures.
“As well as the drafting and validation of a new ECOWAS Code of Ethics,” Tassin-Pelzer said.
Prof. Dias Jeremias, Commissioner for Human Resources, ECOWAS Commission, said that the ISE has provided technical assistance on institutional reforms at the ECOWAS Commission and the EBID.
Jeremias said that since the signing of the Contribution Agreement between the stakeholders and the commissioning by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) towards the end of 2020, the ISE has been committed to supporting programmes at the ECOWAS Commission.
“This Community of Internal Trainers will be involved in the training, coaching, and mentoring of existing staff members and eventually newcomers within the ECOWAS Institutions and Agencies.
“Even before the implementation of the ISE, the overall action ‘‘support to the ECOWAS Commission on Organisational Development’’ had already commenced in identifying the training needs of the ECOWAS Commission in the area of training materials, equipment, and human capital.
“As a result of this support, upon the start of the implementation of the ISE, the procurement of identified training materials and equipment had also commenced.
“In addition to this, 32 internal trainers were trained at the Lagos Business school, from Aug. 23 to Sept. 3 2021.
“The training was aimed to support the recommendation of the report of the Staff Skills Audit on the need to build up a pool of in-house subject matter experts, who will in turn train other staff thus creating an internal knowledge-sharing environment as well as creating a continuous learning culture.
“This launch event, therefore, serves to celebrate the efforts of all stakeholders involved in this development journey,” Jeremias said.
Jeremias said that the event captures two infused activities within the ISE inception phase – the handover of IT equipment, Training Materials, and Furniture to the ECOWAS Staff Training Centre.
He added that the event will also include the Graduation Ceremony of the first set of Internal ECOWAS Trainers.
Jeremias appreciated the EU and GIZ for their cooperation and continued support to ECOWAS in providing technical expertise to support the development of regulations, policies, processes, and other in-house capacity-building measures.