By Amie Choi
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, together with experts from member states, is analysing the main regional findings of the United Nations 2024 e- government survey, and enhancing their knowledge of the data governance implementation model supported by the three principles of Sustainable Goal 16 (accountability, effectiveness and inclusiveness), developed by the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), whose Public Institutions and Digital Government Division facilitated the forum.
During the forum held on 6th and 7th February 2025, the Commission gave a brief overview of its new digital sector development strategy to guide the community’s action for the period from 2024 to 2029, the ambition of which is to “Position ICTs as an engine for economic growth and inclusion, by pursuing the efforts to build a single digital market for sustainable and shared prosperity in the ECOWAS region”.
Experts from the Member States, with the support of UNDESA experts, examined the general trends, lessons learned, achievements and areas for improvement in ECOWAS countries with regard to e-government. Also discussed were the pillars, good practices, mechanisms, challenges, cross-border data sharing, private and public sector data, and technical needs to achieve effective data governance.
In his opening address, Mr Sédiko Douka, Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation, recalled that one of the objectives of the 2023-2027 Community Strategic Framework, which stems from the Economic Community of West African States’ Vision 2050, is to work towards inclusive and sustainable development.
To achieve this, it is essential to step up efforts to advance digital transformation. Digitalisation is therefore one of the cross-cutting issues identified as a key area by Vision 2050, and one in which ECOWAS is stepping up its efforts to strengthen all socio-economic activities, such as e-commerce, e-government, e-health, e- agriculture and e-education.
In order to overcome the challenges faced in the region, he stressed the need for deep and unwavering commitment from the players in the digital ecosystem, coordination between government agencies at national level and regional and international cooperation, particularly in the implementation of essential digital infrastructures for e-government, the effective provision of online public services and the development of digital skills and culture.
Following this, Mr Junho LEE, Associate Expert, speaking on behalf of Mr Juwang Zhu, Director of the Public Institutions and Digital Government Division - UNDESA, reiterated their deep commitment to supporting ECOWAS Member States in their e-government and digital governance journey.
Recognising that transformation is not just about technology, but also about rethinking governance, he pledged active engagement in strengthening public and digital institutions and governance frameworks through regional dialogues and knowledge-sharing platforms.
During the forum, ECOWAS Experts shared progress and perspectives on digital identification, the interoperability framework, content development initiatives, artificial intelligence, data governance, national e-government platforms and available online services. The capacity of the Experts was strengthened in understanding and implementing the data governance framework and the e-government development framework, guided by the United Nations e-Government Development Index (EGDI).
