During their last summit held Tuesday (July 31st) in Lome, the heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) indicated that they took note of the reports of the meetings of the Presidential Task Force for the single currency program, and formulated new directives for its effectiveness.
Several recommendations were made to the Commission of the organization, chaired by Ivorian Jean-Claude Brou who had just been sworn in for a four-year term. Among other things, it will have to submit to the next session of December in Abuja, proposals for the name of the future common currency, in collaboration with the West African Monetary Agency (AMAO) and the Central Banks of the West Africa. region.
The ECOWAS Heads of State Conference also reported taking note of the revised Road Map for the single currency program last February, as well as the creation of a special fund to cover its financing needs. “In this regard, it requests that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and the Bank of Ghana take the necessary measures to pay their share “, We read in the communiqué that sanctioned the work of Lome.
Under Macroeconomic Convergence for 2017, the Conference announced that it has made progress on all the criteria, particularly the budget deficit compared to 2016, before urging to pursue the implementation of virtuous economic policies “.
With regard to the exchange rate regime, the Heads of State “instructed the Chairman of the ECOWAS Commission to organize consultations and meetings with the Working Group, composed of the BCEAO, the Central Bank of Nigeria. and WAMA “for proposals to be submitted before the end of 2018.” On this occasion, the harmonization of the monetary policy framework and the model of the future central bank will also be examined “, they said, before wishing “Greater involvement of states in reflection”.
It should be noted that the organization has for a long time been striving to have a single currency, which would be a major step in its integration process. Even if, officially, all its heads of state are active for its effectiveness, the positions are still irreconcilable between a camp that wants a progressive process with countries already ready, and another that advises caution, all crowned by the lack of prior harmonization of monetary policies among the eight currencies of the region.
Apart from the eight UEMOA countries that share the CFA Franc, each of the seven other sub-regional bloc states has its own currency, making a total of 7 non-convertible currencies among them. These are the Naira for Nigeria, the Cedi for Ghana, the escudo for Cape Verde, the Dalasi for The Gambia, the Liberian Dollar for Liberia, the Guinean Franc for Guinea and the Leone for Guinea. Sierra Leone.
