ECOWAS, CCBs and WAMA charged to expedite interconnection of payments systems

The Heads of State and Government has instructed that the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS), in conjunction with Community Central Banks (CCBs) and the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), to expedite work for the rapid interconnection of ECOWAS payments systems and submit a report at the next Ordinary Session in June, 2021.

These statements were made when the Heads of State and Government were considering the status of implementation of the ECOWAS payment and settlements system at the Fifty-eighth Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States.

At the meeting it was revealed that the aim of this ECOWAS payments and settlement system is to “establish a multilateral mechanism whereby national currencies will be used for the payment and settlement of intra-Community transactions”.

The Authority, however, commended the Ministerial Committee on the Single Currency Programme for the steps taken to implement the decisions of its 57th Ordinary Session held on 7 September 2020, in Niamey, Niger.

It further charged the Commission, in conjunction with the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), UEMOA Commission and Community Central Banks, to submit to its next Ordinary Session the following:

“The draft of the new Convergence and Macroeconomic Stability Pact among ECOWAS Member States, with 1st January 2022 as the start date of the convergence phase; and the new roadmap for the ECOWAS Single Currency Programme”.

The quick implementation of the ECOWAS payments and settlement system is also very important as the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region just commenced trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Commenting on the issue, the Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President of the Republic of Ghana intimated that for the “single currency for the community, we’ve agreed on a revised convergence policy.

“I’m of the view that the difficulties involved in meeting the convergence criteria should not stand in way of the rapid establishment of a payment and settlement system in ECOWAS which will enable a rapid expansion of trade and investment in the region.”

Reiterating the important role of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), President Akufo-Addo hinted that AfCFTA is going to help in the strengthening regional integration.
“The entrance into force of the AfCFTA which began trading on the 1st of January, presents us with an additional opportunity to meet our objectives.”

The Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States finally asserted that it “pays glowing tribute to H.E. Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of Niger, who is attending the Summit for the last time as Head of State, for his strong belief and efforts to promote economic integration, as well as to consolidate democracy, and regional peace and security.

“The Authority remains forever grateful to him for his involvement and the actions carried out within the framework of the ECOWAS Single Currency Project. It commends the initiatives he led during his two terms as President of the Republic of Niger”.