Meeting last week in Bangui (Central African Republic), the Franc Zone Convergence Committee (COCOZOF) carefully avoided the annoying subject, namely the recurrent criticisms of “the only stable currency” between Cape Town and Cairo, as had been to blow him a high official Ivorian.
At the meeting, Clément Belibanga, CEMAC Commissioner in charge of Economic, Monetary and Financial Policies and Mamadou Makhtar Diagne, UEMOA Commissioner in charge of Economic Policies and Taxation, examined the technical elements with a view to next Finance Ministers’ meeting in the Franc zone, scheduled for Thursday, March 28, 2019 in Niamey (Niger), preceded by a meeting of experts on Wednesday, March 27, 2019.
According to our information, the heads of state will endorse the monetary convergence between the two zones during the Niamey meeting. The exchange between the two XAF and XOF currencies is a source of speculation and a currency risk for economic operators.
At the moment, billions of CFA Francs of UEMOA are held by CEMAC banks. The exchange process goes through the euro, which would mean a transfer of currency between the BEAC and the BCEAO that would not be to the advantage of the first. The meeting was attended by experts from both areas (UEMOA, CEMAC, BCEAO, BEAC) as well as representatives of the Treasury and the Banque de France.
