Alternative Africa

Top Menu

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Reports
    • Africa-Observers
      • Read Reports
      • Submit a story
  • MORE
    • Health
    • News Now
    • World
    • Technology
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us

logo

Alternative Africa

  • Home
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business
  • Environment
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Reports
    • Africa-Observers
      • Read Reports
      • Submit a story
  • MORE
    • Health
    • News Now
    • World
    • Technology
  • Biden imposes covid travel ban on South Africa, renews UK, Europe

  • Days into Biden presidency, U.S. new COVID cases down 21%, deaths fall from peak

  • COVID-19 vaccines arrive Nigeria early February-Boss Mustapha

  • New study says hand sanitizer harming kids eyes

  • Only 10 out of 4M vaccinated with Moderna vaccine had severe allergic reaction-CDC

AfricaBusinessNews Now
Home›Africa›Eight West African French speaking countries rename currency, sever links to France

Eight West African French speaking countries rename currency, sever links to France

By alternativeafrica
December 22, 2019
964
2
Share:

London, Dec. 22, 2019 (AltAfrica)-Eight West African French speaking countries have broken decades of economic relationship with their colonial master, France by agreeing to change the name of their common currency to Eco and severed the any link to French currency CFA franc

The CFA franc was initially pegged to the French franc and has been linked to the euro for about two decades.

RELATED: DIGITAL REVOLUTION, TECH START-UPS DELIVER BOOST TO ANGOLA’S ECONOMY

Eight West African French speaking countries rename currency, sever links to France

Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo currently use the currency. All the countries are former French colonies with the exception of Guinea-Bissau.

The announcement was made Saturday during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer and France’s former main colony in West Africa.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara, speaking in the country’s economic capital Abidjan, announced “three major changes”.

French President Emmanuel Macron was greeted on arrival by Ivory Coast President -Alassane-Quattara Photo: Ludovic Marin

These included “a change of name” of the currency, he said, adding that the others would be “stopping holding 50 percent of the reserves in the French Treasury” and the “withdrawal of French governance” in any aspect related to the currency.

Macron hailed it as a “historic reform”, adding: “The Eco will see the light of day in 2020.” The deal took six months in the making, a French source said.

The CFA franc’s value was moored to the euro after its introduction two decades ago, at a fixed rate of 655.96 CFA francs to one euro.

The Bank of France holds half of the currency’s total reserves, but France does not make money on its deposits stewardship, annually paying a ceiling interest rate of 0.75 percent to member states.

The arrangement guarantees unlimited convertibility of CFA francs into euros and facilitates inter-zone transfers.

CFA notes and coins are printed and minted at a Bank of France facility in the southern town of Chamalieres.

The CFA franc, created in 1945, was seen by many as a sign of French interference in its former African colonies even after the countries became independent.

The Economic Community of West African States regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, earlier Saturday urged members to push on with efforts to establish a common currency, optimistically slated to launch next year.

The bloc insists it is aiming to have the Eco in place in 2020, but almost none of the 15 countries in the group currently meet criteria to join.

ECOWAS “urges member states to continue efforts to meet the convergence criteria”, commission chief Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said after a summit of regional leaders in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

The key demands for entry are to have a deficit of less than 3 percent of gross domestic product, inflation of 10 percent or under and debts worth less than 70 percent of GDP.

Economists say they understand the thinking behind the currency plan but believe it is unrealistic and could even be dangerous for the region’s economies which are dominated by one single country, Nigeria, which accounts for two-thirds of the region’s economic output.

Nigeria’s Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed told AFP “there’s still more work that we need to do individually to meet the convergence criteria”.

ECOWAS was set up in 1975 and comprises Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo — representing a total population of around 385 million.

Eight of them currently use the CFA franc, moored to the single European currency and gathered in an organisation called the West African Monetary Union, or WAMU.

But the seven other ECOWAS countries have their own currencies, none of them freely convertible.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) AFP

SHARE ON:
TagsCFA francECOECOWAS
Previous Article

Digital revolution, tech start-ups deliver boost to ...

Next Article

Ghana arrests six police officers for allegedly ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

alternativeafrica

Related articles More from author

  • AfricaNews Now

    Despite upsurge in Boko Haram war in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, ECOWAS agency says terrorists financing reduced in West Africa in ...

    January 31, 2019
    By alternativeafrica
  • AfricaBusinessNews Now

    West African countries to interlink payment system for easier trading

    October 14, 2018
    By alternativeafrica
  • AfricaBusinessNews Now

    ECOWAS to promote regional development through tourism

    May 31, 2019
    By alternativeafrica
  • AfricaNews Now

    ECOWAS honours Kofi Annan, Ebola doctor, Adadevoh with 2018 ECOWAS Award of Excellence

    June 29, 2019
    By alternativeafrica
  • AfricaBusinessNews Now

    Africa launches dedicated networking platform to connect 50 million women in business

    November 27, 2019
    By alternativeafrica
  • AfricaBusinessNews Now

    ECOWAS launches conflict prevention framework, seeks $100m

    January 29, 2019
    By alternativeafrica

2 comments

  1. Ghana arrests six police officers for allegedly stabbing crime suspect | Alternative Africa 22 December, 2019 at 01:25 Reply

    […] Eight West African French speaking countries rename currency, sever links to France […]

  2. Nigeria inaugurate 10,000 hectares oil-palm plantation to boost palm oil production | Alternative Africa 22 December, 2019 at 01:57 Reply

    […] Eight West African French speaking countries rename currency, sever links to France […]

Leave a reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You might be interested

  • AfricaBusinessNews Now

    Nigeria made N3.09bn from railway operations in 2019 -NRC boss

  • News NowPolitics

    Nigeria educates EU, UK, US on misconception over suspended CJN, Onnoghen

  • AfricaHealthNews Now

    Ethiopia frees 4,000 prisoners over coronavirus

Timeline

  • January 26, 2021

    Biden imposes covid travel ban on South Africa, renews UK, Europe

  • January 26, 2021

    Days into Biden presidency, U.S. new COVID cases down 21%, deaths fall from peak

  • January 26, 2021

    COVID-19 vaccines arrive Nigeria early February-Boss Mustapha

  • January 26, 2021

    New study says hand sanitizer harming kids eyes

  • January 26, 2021

    Only 10 out of 4M vaccinated with Moderna vaccine had severe allergic reaction-CDC

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Lagos govt confirms first case of deadly coronavirus infection in Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    February 28, 2020
  • Keynote Address of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at 2018 Oxford Africa Conference

    By PSJ Africa
    May 14, 2018
  • Morocco begins regional integration by connecting Casablanca Airport with High Speed Train

    By alternativeafrica
    January 4, 2020
  • Kenyan govt pressure Facebook for data on Kenyan users

    By alternativeafrica
    November 20, 2019
  • Nigeria: 32,000 capacity Lagos rice mill to start production in 2020

    By alternativeafrica
    December 23, 2019
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail – Future agricultures
    on
    October 16, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail - The Zimbabwean
    on
    October 12, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • Ethiopia joins Africa's Artificial Intelligence revolution | Alternative Africa
    on
    October 2, 2020

    Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems in Africa, Middle East to top $374 million in 2020

    […] Many African countries ...
  • The 5 most popular Africans 2020
    on
    September 25, 2020

    Celebrating Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the man behind breakthrough of Ebola cure

    […] Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe ...
  • Millitants in Central Mali Set Jail Ablaze in Attack Killing Two | taktik(z) GDI (Government Defense ...
    on
    August 11, 2020

    Fifteen gendarmes killed in another attack on Mali camp

    […] attack fol­lowed a January ...
AlternativeAfrica.com is an independent Pan African News Website dedicated primarily to influencing the negative narratives about Africa. We hope to do this by focusing and showcasing the many developmental strides sweeping across the continent.

Read more >>>

Contact Info

  • info@alternativeafrica.com
  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Biden imposes covid travel ban on South Africa, renews UK, Europe

    By alternativeafrica
    January 26, 2021
  • Days into Biden presidency, U.S. new COVID cases down 21%, deaths fall from peak

    By alternativeafrica
    January 26, 2021
  • COVID-19 vaccines arrive Nigeria early February-Boss Mustapha

    By alternativeafrica
    January 26, 2021
  • New study says hand sanitizer harming kids eyes

    By alternativeafrica
    January 26, 2021
  • Lagos govt confirms first case of deadly coronavirus infection in Nigeria

    By alternativeafrica
    February 28, 2020
  • Keynote Address of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at 2018 Oxford Africa Conference

    By PSJ Africa
    May 14, 2018
  • Macron in Ivory Coast to launch anti-terrorism academy

    By alternativeafrica
    December 21, 2019
  • Kenyan govt pressure Facebook for data on Kenyan users

    By alternativeafrica
    November 20, 2019
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail – Future agricultures
    on
    October 16, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • The return of fortress conservation: why excluding people means biodiversity conservation will fail - The Zimbabwean
    on
    October 12, 2020

    Inside the training camp of Akashinga, Zimbabwe’s armed, all-women anti-poaching rangers

    […] In parallel to ...
  • Ethiopia joins Africa's Artificial Intelligence revolution | Alternative Africa
    on
    October 2, 2020

    Spending on Artificial Intelligence Systems in Africa, Middle East to top $374 million in 2020

    […] Many African countries ...
  • The 5 most popular Africans 2020
    on
    September 25, 2020

    Celebrating Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe, the man behind breakthrough of Ebola cure

    […] Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe ...

Photostream

    Follow us

    • Home
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
    © Copyright Alternative Africa 2019. All rights reserved.