During her last Ministers’ meeting of the ECOWAS economies in Abuja, it adopted Eco as the regional currency which all the Fancophone economies, who had hitherto ceded their currency nomenclature to their colonial master, France (CFA), also adopted.
Business Hilights Ghana Bureau chief reports that in the new year, Government of Ghana made bold, its planned introduction of a higher currency of 100 and 200 Ghana Cedis with the aim of deepening the economy and further ease financial transactions in the blossoming economy.
On the other hand, putting the Eco debate in perspective, an economic affairs commentator, Mr Richard Mammah, said “The scheme did not sneak in on us,” noting that “It is two-decades old as this Wikipedia ‘timeline’ outlines hereunder.”
“The goal of a common currency was officially started in December 2000…
The Eco was first planned to be introduced in 2003, but this was postponed several times, to 2005, 2010 and 2014. At a meeting of the Convergence Council of Ministers and Governors of West Africa on 25 May 2009, the start of the currency was rescheduled to 2015 due to the international economic crisis.
“The December 2009 meeting also established a plan to begin work to merge the Eco with the CFA franc immediately upon the launch of the Eco; this was planned to be achieved by 2020…
In February 2018 ECOWAS affirmed its intention to restart the process with an introduction in 2020…
On June 29, 2019, the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) formally adopted the name of “eco” for their project of the single currency and planned to introduce the currency in 2020…
“In October 2019, according to the International Monetary Fund, the success of the project to replace the CFA franc in West Africa with a common currency – the eco – will depend on taking into account certain factors both political and economic….’
Business Hilights investigations revealed that even though all ECOWAS members have adopted the Eco, implementation remains a far cry as many are yet to meet set timelines and conditions in terms of inflation rate, debt to GDP ratio and other factors.
