ECOWAS Business News

The African Union (AU) African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) has commissioned a continent-wide study to ascertain the contribution of youth in security and peace-building in Africa . To this end, the Peace and Security Department (PSD) of the African Union Commission (AUC) on December 12-14, 2018,  in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, convened a methodological workshop for the conduct of the AU-PSC's mandated 'study on the role and contributions of youth to peace and security in Africa'. The Head Of Conflict Prevention and Early Warning Division, Amb. Fred Ngoga , in a statement made available after the workshop on Friday, noted that the mandated study was an outcome of the PSC dedication of its 807th meeting on November 8, 2018, to an open session "Youth, Peace and Security" in commemoration of the Africa Youth Day. Ngoga said the forum provided an opportunity for youth groups to update the Council on their contributions to peace and security. "In commend

Statement from Civil Society Organizations working on eCommerce for Development, on the Africa eCommerce Week and Outcomes December 14, 2018 Electronic commerce, and digital trade and technology more generally, can stimulate development, generate jobs and help build sustainable livelihoods. However just like previous changes in technology and trading patterns, for developing countries to benefit, they need the right policies and institutional support, both domestically and internationally. This conference has well highlighted the opportunities of e-commerce for African entrepreneurs, but the primary challenge is to harness digital industrialization for structural transformation of the continent. Nearly all digital trade is currently dominated by a few global players from the United States and China through platforms that are not simply disrupting and re-organizing economic activity but leading to digital domination. In order to trade, we have to produce. If we expand digital trade w

By E.K.Bensah Jr The Gender Centre for Empowering Development(GenCED) is on a mission to change the conversation around the workplace  by promoting women's access to justice. In a speech copied to Ecowas Business News during a consultation in November, Executive Director of Gender Centre for Empowering Development (GenCED), Esther Tawiah, explained that, even though Ghana has ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), inequality and harassment at the workplace continues to persist. It is a well-known fact that, the 1992 constitution ensures the protection of the fundamental human rights of all persons and specifically outlines equality and freedom from discrimination. The Labour Act of 2003 (Act 651), sections 55-57, provide maternity protection before and after birth for women, yet there remain records of women in both public and private sectors signing illegal documents that deter them from procreation for