ECOWAS Urges Speedy Monetary Integration

10 October 2011
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Economic Community of West African States (Abuja)
press release

Lome — The ECOWAS Statutory Committee on Macro-economic Issues has called on Member States and all relevant institutions to work harmoniously towards accelerated monetary integration and a single regional currency. Addressing the opening of the inaugural session of the Committee meeting in Lome on Monday, 10th October 2011 the ECOWAS Commissioner for Macro-economic Policy, Professor Lambert N'galadjo Bamba, stressed the importance of the Committee in the monitoring of the convergence process and towards ensuring conformity between national and regional programmes.

The Committee, comprising senior officials of the ministries of finance, directors of studies and research of central banks and heads of national statistical institutes of Member States, is expected to submit bi-annual multilateral surveillance reports and multi-annual programmes to the ECOWAS Convergence Council for adoption. Professor Bamba urged the experts to discharge their duties creditably in order to facilitate the work of the Convergence Council for regional economic, monetary and financial integration. The Council comprises Ministers of Finance and Governors of Central Banks of Member States.

The Committee meeting is considering the draft regional Guidelines for the Formulation of the Multi-Annual Convergence Programmes, designed to ensure effective implementation of the multilateral surveillance mechanism, an important instrument for the creation of the ECOWAS single currency by 2020. The three-day meeting is also expected to review the status of implementation of the roadmap on the single currency programme between 2009 and 2020, consider a report of the macro-economic convergence of Member States for 2011 as well as the draft Supplementary Act relating to Instituting an ECOWAS Macro- economic Convergence and Stability Pact among Member States.

The experts will also consider the draft Regulation relating to the Creation of a Mechanism for the Multilateral Surveillance of Economic and Financial Policies of Member States. There will be presentations on the status of the implementation of the ECOWAS flagship Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons and the Right of Residence and Establishment; progress report on the Trade Liberalization Scheme, the Common External Tariff, Indirect Taxes and Fiscal Transition; as well as the report of the investment promotion and the ECOWAS-private sector partnerships, among others.

The report of the committee will be presented to the regional Convergence Council which will meet in Friday, 14th October 2011 in Lome.

Read the original article on Ecowas.

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