Togo: Parliament Allows Government to Ratify Cooperation Agreement on ECO currency

Economic governance

Monday, 03 July 2023 08:05

Togo: Parliament Allows Government to Ratify Cooperation Agreement on ECO currency

(Togo First) - The Togolese Assembly allowed the government to ratify the cooperation agreement between the West African Monetary Union (UMOA) member states, countries that share the CFA franc, and France. The Assembly unanimously approved the move last Thursday, June 29, during its sixth ordinary plenary session of the year. Sani Yaya, Togo's Minister of Economy and Finance, was present.

Closer to adopting the ECO?

The new monetary cooperation agreement was signed on December 21, 2019, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. It is a "significant revision" of the agreement in effect since December 4, 1973, according to the Assembly.

The updated version, indeed, prepares the Union's states for the introduction of the ECO and "promotes Togo's growth and attractiveness."

By ratifying the document, Togo tells other WAMU States that it has completed the internal procedure necessary for the agreement to come into effect.

Both for Togo, and the region concerned, the recent announcement is one of the latest developments in a process that started in 2019, following many debates about the future of the CFA franc, which some people view as a colonial relic that should be replaced.

In the wake of these debates, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) initiated reforms in the operation of the community currency, notably at the level of its operating accounts.

Note that as recently as 2020, Togo was the only ECOWAS country to meet the established convergence criteria for adopting the ECO, the future single currency of the zone.

While Togo is taking another step in this direction agreed upon by the subregion's countries, it should be noted that some observers, like the Standard and Poor's analyst, have expressed doubts about the community currency's mid-term implementation, common to the 15 countries of the sub-region.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

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