MINDFUL of Article 8 of the ECOWAS Treaty establishing the Executive Secretariat and determining its functions, particularly in paragraphs 8, 9 and 10 of the Article ;

MINDFUL of the decisions determining the structure and organisational chart of the Executive Secretariat and particularly of Decision C/DEC.5/11/82 of 17 November, 1982 of the Council of Ministers relating to structural matters ;

MINDFUL of the Final Report of the Council of Ministers at its session in November, 1983 in Conakry and July, 1985 in Lome ;

MINDFUL of the introduction of data processing as a means to the computerisation of certain activities at Community level through the installation in Member States of an automatic data processing system for external trade ;

CONSIDERING the importance of an automatic data processing system for the development of activities in the Community, and particularly for the establishment of the compensation system provided for by the ECOWAS Treaty, the rapid and accurate preparation of statistics for the Community, the encouragement of modernisation in customs and external trade procedure in Member States ;

CONSIDERING the progress of national projects in the supplementation of the Community computerisation programme which aims at the computerisation of the collection, acquisition and management of customs and statistical data ;

ACKNOWLEDGING the need for effective follow-up and improved co-ordination in the different services deriving from the computerisation programme ;

ACKNOWLEDGING the need for an up-to-date and rational management of Community Institutions through the computerisation of their different services ;

CONVINCED of the need for assistance to Member States of the Community, for their requirements as regards customs and customs computer training for the automatic processing of statistical, economic and financial data, and the maintenance of computer equipment ;

AWARE of the contribution that ECOWAS can make towards the integration of training programmes for upper-level staff with a view to introducing modern management techniques in activities at national level in Member State ;

CONVINCED that the establishment of an ECOWAS Community Computer Centre can play a significant role in the integration of the economies of Member States ;

ON THE RECOMMENDATION of the Trade, Customs, Immigration, Money and Payment Commission meeting from 26^th to 31^st of March, 1986 ;

1. There is hereby established within the structures of ECOWAS Institutions, a Computer Centre for ECOWAS Member States which shall be known as the Community Computer Centre, or the C.C.C.
2. The Community Computer Centre shall be located at the Headquarters of the ECOWAS Fund.

The Community Computer Centre is a decentralised technical department within the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat, whose organisational chart will be adapted accordingly.

The terms for recruitment and salaries for professional and general service personnel and auxiliary personnel will be those applicable within Community Institutions.

The Community Computer Centre has the following objectives :

• to contribute to the establishment of the compensation system provided for in the Treaty establishing ECOWAS ;
• to set up a service centre for the use of Member States and for all other users ;
• to set up a Training Centre for customs services, computerised customs data services and later, for data processing techniques ;
• to advise on the introduction of specific administrative and financial management methods in the executive institutions of the Community ;
• to encourage co-operation between national computerised customs projects as a whole ;
• to carry out any other missions that may be assigned by the relevant Community authorities.

The various functions of the Community Computer Centre shall be set out in greater detail in statutory form by the Executive Secretary.

The administrative and management organs of the Community Computer Centre shall be :

• The Orientation and Advanced Training Committee ;
• Management.

1. The Orientation and Advanced Training Committee is a sub-commission of the Trade, Customs, Immigration, Money and Payments Commission.
2. The Orientation and Advanced Training Committee shall define the orientation and general policy of the centre's activities, in accordance with the objectives of its principal priority functions.
3. The Committee may call on the services of any individual or organisation outside the Centre which may be interested in or concerned by the activities of the Centre.
4. The conclusion of the meeting of the Committee shall be submitted to the relevant Community authorities by the Trade, Customs, Immigration, Money and Payments Commission.

1. The Director shall be recruited and appointed in accordance with the provisions of the texts governing this subject in force within the Community's Institutions.
2. The Director shall be the administrative and technical Head of the Community Computer Centre. He must be a national of one of the Member States of the Community, and be highly qualified and competent in technical matters.
3. He shall be responsible for the overall functioning of the Centre's services and activities.
4. He shall be responsible for the following, among other things :

• the supervision of the day-to-day administration and management of the Centre in accordance with overall policy and the regulations governing its activities and operations ;
• the submission of progress reports on programmes, annual report and budget estimates to the Orientation and Advanced Training Committee ;
• collaboration with national, sub-regional, regional and international institutions able to help towards the achievement of the Centre's objectives, in defining co-operation programmes in accordance with the methods in use within Community Institutions.

5. He shall render account of the Centre's activities to the Executive Secretary.

In order to achieve its objectives, the Community Computer Centre shall :

- receive assistance in terms of financial, human and material resources from the Community and from organisations for international co-operation ;

- ultimately generate its own resources from payments (or equivalents) for services made available to users.

1. The Community Computer Centre's annual budget estimates shall be adopted during the adoption of the Executive Secretariat's budget in which it will feature as an annex.
2. The Executive Secretary shall delegate authority to the Managing Director of the ECOWAS Fund to administer the funds allocated to the Centre.
3. The various financial controls imposed on administration of the resources of the Community Computer Centre shall be undertaken by the appropriate structures within the Community's Institutions, and in particular by the Internal Audit Department of the Fund.

The Executive Secretariat and the Fund are urged to make the necessary provisions, in agreement with organisations for international co-operation with a view to progressively and effectively transferring the Central ASYCUDA Project from Geneva (UNCTAD/UNDP) to Lomé.

Depending upon the evolution and development of the activities of the Community Computer Centre and its role in the economic integration of Member States of the Community, the possibility of setting up the Community Computer Centre as a Community establishment which shall be a legal entity and shall have administrative and financial autonomy, could be envisaged and examined.

The temporary organisation chart of the Community Computer Centre, which shall be applicable until further notice, is attached to this Decision.

The Executive Secretariat and the Fund shall be responsible, in their respective domains, for the implementation of this Decision.

This Decision shall come into force upon signature and shall be published in the Official Journal of the Community and the National Gazette of each Member State.