The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) on Friday hosted a one-day media orientation workshop, bringing together journalists from print, broadcast, and online media ahead of the upcoming Joint West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), and the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) 2025 Year-End Statutory Meetings in Liberia.
Scheduled for February 4-13, 2026, the meetings will include the 58th Technical Committee, 52nd Committee of Governors, and the 55th Convergence Council sessions.
Key discussions will focus on macroeconomic developments, regional convergence, remittance flows, financing for development, financial market integration, and legal frameworks for the ECOWAS Monetary Union, as well as the long-anticipated ECO single currency.
The joint meetings, hosted by the Liberian government through the CBL and the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), aim to equip journalists with a deep understanding of regional monetary integration and strengthen informed public discourse.
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Opening the workshop, Deputy Governor for Economic Policy at the CBL, Dr. Musa Dukuly, said the orientation was designed to provide journalists with accurate knowledge of the ECOWAS monetary integration process and Liberia's role in hosting this landmark regional engagement.
"This is part of our collaboration with the media to ensure that you have adequate information on the monetary policy operations of the Central Bank and the potential implications for Liberia hosting the WAMZ and ECOWAS statutory meetings," Dr. Dukuly said. "We are always delighted by your presence at the Central Bank."
Tracing the origins of West Africa's monetary integration, Dr. Dukuly highlighted the ECOWAS Monetary Cooperation Programme (EMCP) launched in 1987 to foster economic integration, facilitate trade, and harmonize monetary policies. The initiative eventually led to two monetary zones: the CFA franc zone for Francophone countries and the WAMZ for Anglophone and Lusophone countries, officially created in 2000.
"The whole idea of the WAMZ was to create a convergence framework--a common economic benchmark through which countries' performances can be assessed and policies harmonized," he explained. WAMZ currently includes Liberia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Guinea, the only Francophone country outside the CFA zone.
Dr. Dukuly noted that the February meetings will feature technical and policy-level discussions, including sessions under the College of Supervisors, where central banks will share experiences on financial sector stability, non-performing loans, climate-related financial risks, and macroeconomic policy coordination.
"This meeting gives Liberia the opportunity not only to learn from other countries but also to share our own experience," Dr. Dukuly said. "We have made significant progress in sustaining macroeconomic stability, and other countries are keen to understand what Liberia is doing differently."
He emphasized that the meetings will produce a comprehensive report with country-specific recommendations to accelerate regional integration and inform whether ECOWAS is prepared to adopt a single regional currency by 2027.
"This is a very important meeting. It will inform whether the region is ready to move toward a single currency in 2027, and that makes it extremely important for Liberia," he said.
Dr. Dukuly also urged journalists to embrace their role as development partners, emphasizing responsible reporting on central banking and economic issues.
"You are not just journalists; you are watchdogs and development partners. Even if we are doing it wrong, say so. If it is true, we will acknowledge it. That is how credibility is built," he said, encouraging reporters to consult the CBL's media team before publishing sensitive economic information.
Providing an in-depth briefing on the proposed ECO single currency, Deputy Director of the CBL's Research, Policy, and Planning Department, Mah Kruah, explained that the initiative traces back to ECOWAS's founding in 1975, when regional leaders recognized that trading with multiple currencies hindered intra-regional commerce.
"Our forefathers realized that trading among ourselves with different currencies was not efficient. That is why the idea of a single currency was conceived--to help us trade among ourselves more easily," Kruah said.
He highlighted the elimination of exchange rate barriers as an immediate economic benefit. "If we have a single currency, cross-border trade becomes faster, cheaper, and more predictable," Kruah explained, citing studies showing that ECOWAS member states currently lose an estimated US$5 billion annually due to currency conversion costs--a burden the ECO seeks to eliminate.
The ECO is also expected to deepen economic integration, stabilize exchange rates, reduce inflation, and attract foreign investment, enhancing investor confidence across the sub-region.
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Assistant Director of Research, Policy, and Planning, Blama J. Goll, addressed the convergence criteria under the EMCP, which set benchmarks for macroeconomic stability and fiscal discipline necessary for a successful single currency.
"These criteria include limiting budget deficits to three percent of GDP, maintaining inflation below five percent, ensuring gross external reserves cover at least three months of imports, and restricting Central Bank financing of government deficits," Goll said.
He added that Liberia has made notable progress, particularly in central bank financing of government deficits and moving toward single-digit inflation, positioning the country to participate effectively in regional monetary integration.
The media orientation concluded with a strong emphasis on the vital role of journalists as partners in Liberia's economic development. The upcoming WAMZ and ECOWAS meetings are expected to draw over 100 participants from across the sub-region, including governors from Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, and other WAMZ countries, for discussions that will shape the future of a single currency in West Africa.
