ECOWAS Adopts Plan to Launch Single Currency in 2027
The economic communities of West African countries, ECOWAS has adopted a new plan to launch a common currency in 2027. The group which comprises fifteen West African countries adopted the plan at the fifty-ninth ordinary session of the authority of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government held June at Accra, Ghana yesterday.
Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, President of the ECOWAS Commission, told a news conference after a summit of the leaders, saying the countries hope a single currency will help to boost trade and economic growth.
“Due to the shock of the pandemic, the heads of state had decided to suspend the implementation of the convergence pact in 2020-2021” Brou said.
“We have a new road map and a new convergence pact that will cover the period from 2022 to 2026, and 2027 being the launch of the Eco,” he said, referring to the name of the new currency.
Nigeria, the largest economy in West Africa, currently operates a managed float for its currency, while eight others including top cocoa producer Ivory Coast, use the France-backed CFA, pegged to the euro.
For decades, the bloc had hoped that the idea of a common currency would boost cross-border trade and economic development.
The concept of a single currency was first raised in ECOWAS in 2003. Its introduction, however, has been delayed multiple times before this year: in 2005, 2010, 2014.
ECOWAS has faced several challenges to launch the eco, with several of the bloc’s member states under economic pressure and struggling to pay their national debts, as well as political instability, such as in Mali.
The French-backed CFA franc, which is pegged to the euro, is currently used in eight West African countries.
In 2019, Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara announced renaming the CFA franc to “eco,” sparking backlash from ECOWAS’ English-speaking members.
ECOWAS Adopts Plan to Launch Single Currency in 2027
