Liberia has regained its seat or membership within the ECOWAS Brown Card Scheme, the Hot Pepper has reliably gathered. This means the ECOWAS Brown Card Liberia Secretariat here would have to work in consonance with ECOWAS protocols and frameworks and fully implement the brown card scheme in the country.
The ECOWAS Brown Card Scheme is one of the specialized agencies of ECOWAS clothed with the authority to issue the Brown Card to citizens and motorists of member states plying the route of one state to the other, without visa requirement.
From 1990—2023, Liberia lost its seat, and it was not until recently that the country has regained it following the First Executive Committee Meeting of 2023, which was convened in Akosombo, Ghana from January 30—31, 2023. The meeting brought together all 15 member countries of ECOWAS Brown Card representatives, including a representative from Liberia, Sahr Amara Kaba, Permanent Secretary of the nation’s Brown Card office.
With Liberia back in its seat to administer the ECOWAS Brown Card Scheme in the country, and in keeping with this mandate, it is under obligation to show proof of the constitution of the funds to be provided, as stipulated in the draft report emanating from the First Executive Committee Meeting, held in Akosombo, Ghana.
Against this backdrop, Liberia’s ECOWAS Brown Card Scheme Office Permanent Secretary, Sahr Amara Kaba, has hailed the Government of Liberia (GoL) for being instrumental in the nation regaining its seat. According to him, this has imbued him and co-workers to work even more harder and ensure that the Brown Card Scheme policy is adhered to by all citizens and motorists in the region.
At the first meeting, Chairman of the Council of Bureaux, Jean Damascene Nignan solicited the cooperation of members to critically and selflessly scrutinize the documents before them while carefully examining the various recommendations to be presented to enable the EXCO to make informed decisions for the Brown Card Scheme.
At the close of this First Executive Committee Meeting, a plan of action and its implementation modalities was adopted. In the draft plan of action, the Committee re-examined the activity plan of the year in line with the strategic decision adopted by the 38th AGM.
The plan of action also touched on the re-examination of the harmonized constitution of the National Bureaux, including the way forward.
On the harmonized constitution of the National Bureaux, the Committee wants the document resubmitted for appreciation and adoption after critical examination by the Legal and Regulatory Committee of the Council. As part of the action plan, the Committee took note of the deployment of the 5-year (2023—2027) strategic plan adopted by the 38th General Assembly, and commended the previous EXCO for a good job done.