W/A Central Bank should be established in Accra - Kufuor

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday suggested that the headquarters of the envisaged West African Central Bank should be established in Accra. He said Ghana had the conducive atmosphere to generate the confidence that would enable the bank to grow and prosper, adding " we count on the staff of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), who have worked in Ghana, to support the Government in this direction".

President Kufuor made the suggestion when Dr Micheal O. Ojo, Director General of WAMI, paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu to present a report on the operations of WAMI.

He said the report would encourage countries involved in the creation of the Second Monetary Zone in West Africa to support the WAMI to achieve its objective.

President Kufuor said it would enable them to introduce some discipline into their fiscal and monetary policies to manage their economies much better and more vigorously.

He said some of the countries within the Second Monetary Zone such as Sierra Leone were yet to come out of its woes due to conflicts, "we have to make haste slowly and we will get to the goal".

President Kufuor said the Government was committed to attaining the objectives of the Second Monetary Zone and expressed optimism that the sensitisation programme of member countries would gather momentum otherwise individual currencies would be at the mercy of each other.

Dr Ojo said Ghana had attained more of the criteria for the creation of the monetary zone than any other country.

He said by the end of September 2003, the first year of the extension of the programme that was scheduled for implementation in July 2005, Ghana was far above average.

Dr Ojo said Nigeria and Sierra Leone were on average while Guinea and the Gambia encountered some problems adding that with commitment some progress could be achieved.