This Day (Lagos)
Juliana Taiwo and Dele Ogbodo
23 June 2009
Abuja — The Authority of Heads of State and Government of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) yesterday said December 2009 was no longer feasible for the take-off of its single currency and monetary union within the region.
Under the revised plans, WAMZ expects to launch the currency, named "Eco", by 2015 while the entire Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will adopt a single currency by 2020 with the establishment of ECOWAS Central Bank.
The new 2020 target was adopted yesterday at the 24th meeting of the Convergence Council of Ministers and Governors of the WAMZ.
WAMZ consists of five countries - Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone - while the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) is a group of eight West African countries, which share a common currency, the "CFA Franc".
UEMOA was created in 1994 by Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo and Guinea-Bissau.
Two member countries, namely Cape Verde and Liberia, do not belong to either WAMZ or UEMOA, although they are under intense pressure to join.
The plan to launch the currency, to be named "Eco", has been in the works since 2000, following the Accra Declaration and the Bamako Accord.
No reason was given for the shift in date by WAMZ, which was contained in an 18-point communiqué issued at the end of ninth summit in Abuja.
The ECOWAS Monetary Union should be launched in 2020 with the establishment of the ECOWAS Central Bank and introduction of the common currency.
The new decisions have been incorporated into the document, "Decisions Relating to the Extension of the Transition Period for the Establishment of the West African Central Bank and matters connected therewith".
In his remarks, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua hoped that member states would work hard to achieve the convergence criteria by the new target date, in order to avoid another postponement.
Yar'Adua had earlier expressed his disappointment that 30 years after the signing of the Protocol on Free Movement of Goods and services, bottlenecks in the borders of member states have hampered effective economic integration.
He canvassed an accelerated implementation of the integrations policies of the body, as a safeguard against the global economic crisis.
"It is sad to note that 30 years after the signing of the Protocol on Free Movement of Goods and services, we are yet to significantly remove the bottlenecks at our borders, which continue to encumber effective economic integration. The reality of the global economic situation today makes it critical for us to recommit to investing the relevant protocols with the requisite political will," he said.
The Heads of States and Government have also pledged their commitment to ensuring the success of the upcoming June 28 election in Guinea Bissau.
It was also agreed that ECOWAS would provide $3.5 million to clear the arrears of salaries owed members of the country's armed forces, and another $350,000 to plug the funding gap for the elections.
This was contained in the communiqué read by the President of ECOWAS, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas.
The one-day mid-year summit also discussed the region's development challenges, including the ongoing negotiation of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between ECOWAS and the European Union (EU) for the creation of a free trade area of the two regions.
They insisted on a firm EU commitment to finance West Africa's EPA Development Programme meant to improve the competitiveness of the regional economy and cushion the effect of anticipated agreement on the economies of Member States.
They urged the ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions to accelerate the negotiation processes to ensure the signing of the first phase of the Agreement, in line with the agreed timetable.
The Heads of State and Government also approved a new Common External Tariff (CET) regime of the region, with the creation of a fifth band of 35 per cent to be levied on certain categories of goods imported into the region.
The revised regime is to replace the four-band regime approved during the 2006 summit of Heads of State and Government, and is part of the platforms for creating a common market in West Africa.
They endorsed ongoing efforts to harmonise the Value Added Tax (VAT) regime in the region.
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