Ghana hosts Task force meeting on single currency

Renault

Ghana is hosting the 5th ECOWAS Presidential Task Force Meeting on the Single Currency Programme from the 17-21 February 2018, at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The four-day meeting is being chaired by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari; President of Cote d’Ivoire, Allassane Ouattara; President of Niger, Issoufou Mafiamadou, will be in attendance. Also in attendance will be Governors of Central Banks and Foreign and Finance Ministers from the ECOWAS region.

The Presidential Task Force meeting will be preceded by two meetings namely:
• The 6th Technical Meeting of the Presidential Task Force, 17-18 February 2018.
• The 2nd Ministerial Meeting of the Presidential Task Force, 19-20 February 2018.

The Technical meetings will be attended by representatives of the Ministries of Finance and Economy of Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Niger and Nigeria, Central Banks of ECOVAS Members State, and the regional institutions involved in the ECOWAS Monetary Cooperation Programme (EMCP), namely the ECOWAS Commission, UEMOA Commission, West African Monetary Agency (W AMA), West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) BCEAO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

The meetings will among other things, provide member countries with a common platform to deliberate on issues related to the ECOWAS single currency programme and consider or adopt a revised roadmap to accelerate the creation of the single currency by 2020.

The last meeting of the Presidential Task Force on the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme was held in Niamey, Niger in October, 2017.

Background

It will be recalled that at the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government on 25th October, 2013, the Presidents of Ghana and Niger were appointed to oversee the creation of the single currency in a timely manner.

The two Presidents constituted a Task Force, whose membership included representatives of the President of Ghana and Niger; Ministers of Finance of Ghana and Niger; Governors of the eight Central Banks of ECOWAS member States; ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions; West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) and the West African Monetary Institute to advise them periodically on the monetary integration programme.

The membership of the taskforce was reviewed in 2015 to include the Presidents of Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria, as well as the Ministers of Finance of the two countries.

The inaugural meeting of the Presidential Taskforce was held on 20th and 21st February, 2014 in Niamey. Subsequently, two other meetings were held in Accra on 7th and 8th July, 2014, with the last meeting held in Niamey from 4th to 6th February, 2015.

The main objectives of the third meeting were to examine the revised roadmap on the realisation of the ECOWAS single currency by 2020; a proposal from the ECOWAS Commission on the creation of an ECOWAS monetary Institute by 2018; and the concern raised by the WAMZ Convergence Council on the revised macroeconomic criteria adopted by the 45th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government held in Accra on 10th July, 2014.

After the third meeting, it was agreed, amongst others that the Central Bank financing criterion be reclassified as a primary criterion because of its strategic importance to monetary and price stability. The revised roadmap on the realisation of the ECOWAS single currency by 2020 was to be costed and sources of funding identified.

Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM

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