African countries design ad implement policies that facilitate the deepening and acceleration of regional economic integration. 3.12 Mobility of goods and persons The ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) was designed to progressively establish a customs union among member states. One result of the creation of a borderless West Africa is that goods from member countries no longer attract tariffs, those from third (that is non-EU) countries outside of ECOWAS attract duties of only 0.05 per cent of total value. The plan to move from a Free Trade Area to a Customs Union and eventually to a Monetary Union – allowing easier access to bigger markets, promoting economies of scale and creating jobs – remains largely unimplemented. The implementation of the various protocols have been frustrated by multiple check points and the imposition of unofficial tariffs at border points. Challenges to free trade in West Africa Despite efforts to introduce common external tariff, traders still face high tariffs, product bans and import controls. Cumbersome regulations and administrative bureaucracy, bribery and corruption, the high cost of often-inefficient transportation and communications services have all hindered intra-ECOWAS trade. Source: Ghana News Agency, 2011 3.13 Facilitation of financial transactions The absence of any efficient and effective payment mechanism, particularly between Anglophone and francophone countries, has been identified as an impediment to crossborder and intra-ECOWAS trade. Sixth Annual APRM Progress Report: January – December 2011 60