Regional experts have ended a two-day meeting in Accra, Ghana aimed at reviewing the revised roadmap for the ECOWAS single currency, the ECO, which involves the creation of a second currency by six west African countries by 2015.
The countries are Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria agreed to create a second currency after the CFA used by all but one of the French-speaking countries in the region. This will see the region using two parallel currencies until 2020 when a single currency is expected to come into being.
According to an ECOWAS press release, “the meeting of the inter-institutional technical sub-committee on the roadmap for the ECOWAS single currency programme is intended to review the 34 activities included in the programme for the single currency”.
It also reviewed the roadmap and examined the status of implementation of these activities relating to the timelines indicated for their implementation, the Acting Director of ECOWAS Multilateral Surveillance Directorate, Dr. Nelson Magbagbeola is quoted as saying.
The experts were drawn mostly from the ECOWAS Commission, Central Banks of West African States, the francophone central bank (BCEAO), West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), West African Bankers Association (WABA), the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) and the West African Economic and Monetary Union, UEMOA Commission.
They also revisited the reporting procedure of the roadmap, the frequency of their meetings and the financing of the various activities, the release adds.
It is expected that the proposed timelines on some of the activities will be presented to the next meeting of the ECOWAS Convergence Council through the Macroeconomic Policy Technical Committee for consideration and adoption, the release ends.
