6 West African Countries To Launch Common Currency Next Year

Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia and Guinea plan to establish a common currency, the Eco, on 1 July 2005 despite slow progress towards achieving this goal, which was planned for 2003.

The West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) was formed in 2000 to try and establish a strong stable currency to rival the CFA franc, whose exchange rate is tied to that of the euro and is guaranteed by the Bank of France. The WAMZ is dominated by Nigeria, Africa's largest oil producer and most populous country, with an estimated 126 million people, and is dominated by English-speaking countries. Guinea is the only Francophone member of the grouping. Along with Mauritania, Guinea opted out of the CFA franc currency shared by all other former French colonies in West and Central Africa. The eventual goal is for the CFA franc and Eco to merge, giving all of West and Central Africa a single stable currency. Several of the WAMZ countries suffer from weak currencies and chronic budget deficits.

?We are the richest in the region in terms of natural resources, yet the poorest and the most troubled,? says President Jammeh of Gambia, highlighting the paradox that the WAMZ member states export large volumes of oil, gold, bauxite, diamonds and cocoa, but have weaker economies than their neighbours in the CFA zone, most of whom have much less in the way of natural resources.