ECOWAS quest for single currency unlikely – DG

There are strong indications that the quest for a single currency by the West African Monetary Zones (WAMZ) would take much longer time to achieve as the convergence indicators have declined significantly.

The Director-General, West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), Dr Olorunsola Olofeso, disclosed this in Abuja over the weekend during the 51st meeting of Convergence Council of the West African Monetary Zones (WAMZ).

He said: “The assessment of Member States’ performance reveals that as at the end of June 2023, all WAMZ Member States failed to meet all the four primary convergence criteria. The zone’s performance score declined to 29.2 per cent, compared to 41.7 per cent during the same period in 2022.”

“The medium-term projections on macroeconomic convergence, as indicated by the multi-year national macroeconomic convergence and stability programmes of the

Member States, suggest that none of the WAMZ Member States will meet all the four primary convergence criteria on a sustainable basis for the remaining three consecutive years (20242026) of the convergence phase of the ECOWAS Single Currency Roadmap (2021-2027).”

While presenting the report of the Committee of Governors of WAMZ, Chairman of the Committee and Central Bank governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said the Committee of Governors have directed the DG to present to it a periodic comprehensive macroeconomic and status of convergence report at the WAMZ Statutory meetings, commencing at the midyear 2024.

Speaking further, Cardoso added that the Committee of governors have “Directed WAMI to update its database to reflect current and reliable statistics for policy analysis; and also convene periodic seminars on topical issues of relevance that seek to provide solutions to macroeconomic policy issues of the member states.”