"Eco" members show more commitment to meeting criteria

Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, on Wednesday said countries acceding to the monetary integration of West Africa, has committed themselves to work harder to achieve the convergence criteria by 2015.

Answering questions at a news conference at the Kotoka International Airport, he said, although a number of countries were committed to the single currency idea, with the exception of the Gambia, the rest had not been able to meet the criteria.

He said because those countries had not been able to meet the criteria, the deadline for implementation of the single currency continued to be shifted from time to time.

Alhaji Mumuni said Liberia had become the latest country to accede to the protocol by joining the eco monetary zone.

The Foreign Minister said a common currency for the sub-region would greatly facilitate trading among member countries and help to promote the integration process.

The convergence criteria which was supposed to be met by December 1, 2009, by all the five countries include, single digit inflation; fiscal deficit/gross domestic product ratio of less than four per cent; central bank financing of deficit of less than 10 per cent and a gross external reserve that could finance not less than three months of imports.

The five initial countries are Gambian, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Source: GNA