Ghana, Nigeria Push For Single West African Currency

Accra, Ghana (PANA) - Ghana and Nigeria have agreed to adopt a "fast-track" approach towards the achievement of a single monetary zone in the West African Sub-Region.

The process will first involve the creation of a second monetary zone for the Anglophone area of ECOWAS as it is with UEMOA before the subsequent move toward a single monetary zone for the entire 16 nations.

UEMOA (West African Economic and Monetary Union) groups eight Francophone West African states, that use the CFA franc.

This was the outcome of two-days of intensive consultations between Ghana and Nigeria at a ministerial meeting held in Accra.

Victor Gbeho, Ghana's foreign minister, told reporters that the Accra meeting is a result of decisions reached at the recent ECOWAS Summit in Lome, Togo.

ECOWAS nations were given the option to adopt quicker means and strategies to arrive at the realisation of the ECOWAS protocols.

Nigeria's co-operation and integration minister, Jerry Gana, said the process would involve co-ordination in the areas of finance, commerce and trade, aviation and central banks.

This would involve the establishment of a Convergence Council, which will advice the heads of state on ways to facilitate the quick move toward the second monetary zone.

He said a technical committee would be established to research into major areas of co-operation to ensure that the meeting's recommendations are carried through.

He added that the meeting also discussed the role of the private sector in the whole process and agreed to mobilise resources for the implementation of the second monetary zone.

Gana called for a follow up programme to sustain the momentum of the meeting.

He said the Joint Group of Ministers of the two countries on bilateral matters will meet in the middle of January and the second week of February before the heads of state meet in March for the second agreement to come into effect in April 2004.

He explained that major issues that came up were the establishment of regional infrastructures, implementation of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, effective establishment of free trade areas and the harmonisation of customs procedures.

"In this regard, Ghana and Nigeria should work on a Lagos to Accra railway line to facilitate the process," he added.

Gbeho described the meeting as highly successful, saying it is different from all the others, "in that this one seeks to find strategies for the implementation of the agreed principles of ECOWAS."

He said given recent trends in the world, it is very important that nations work strongly toward integration.

"West Africa cannot afford to lag behind. The process of integration is now inevitable. Ghana and Nigeria will keep on the momentum until the ECOWAS miracle is attained," he emphasised.