ECOWAS member states must demonstrate genuine commitment to ECO currency rollout – Economist

Economist, Professor Godfred Bokpin, has questioned the resolve and commitment of ECOWAS member countries towards the implementation of the single currency, the ECO.

According to him, ECOWAS members states have not demonstrated the requisite readiness to undertake the needed fiscal and monetary strategies aimed towards the rollout of the single currency.

“Prolonged discussions surrounding the ECO, questioning whether member countries are genuinely committed to the requisite fiscal policy discipline and prudent monetary policies are needed to achieve macroeconomic convergence,” the Professor of Finance at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) said.

Meanwhile, a technical committee recently reported that ECOWAS members stated had failed to meet the needed criteria for the ECO’s implementation.

The criteria to be met include; maintaining a single-digit inflation annually, reducing fiscal deficit to no more than 4 percent and Central Bank deficit-financing being pegged below 10 percent of the previous year’s tax revenue.

To find a probable solution to the development, the technical committee has since been tasked to reevaluate the roadmap and convergence pact for ECOWAS member states.

This decision was taken during the ongoing Monetary Zone Conference taking place in Accra, Ghana.

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