PRESS RELEASE ON THE STATUTORY MEETINGS OF THE WAMZ HELD FROM NOVEMBER 3-7 2008, BANJUL, THE GAMBIA

The 23rd Meeting of the Convergence Council of ministers and Governors of Central Banks of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) was held on November 7, 2008 in Banjul, The Gambia.  The meeting was held to consider the Convergence Report by the West African Monetary Institute on the performance of the first half year of 2008 of the member countries towards achievement of the WAMZ Economic and Monetary Union by December 1, 2009.

 

Opening the Convergence Council meeting, the President of the Federal Republic of The Gambia, His Excellency, President Alhaji (Dr) Yahya A. J.J. Jammeh, represented by the Vice President of the Gambia, Her Excellency Dr. Madam Isatou Njie-Saidy,  reaffirmed The Gambia’s unwavering commitment to the attainment of a monetary union premised on the implementation of sound and prudent economic policies.

 

He also assured member countries that the Government of the Gambia would continue to give its unflinching political support to the WAMZ Project and take necessary and appropriate measures to see it succeed.

 

In his address, Honourable Secretary of State for Finance and Economic Affairs of The Gambia, Mr Moussa Gibril Bala Gaye, also reiterated the objective of the WAMZ, which is to establish a common central bank and introduce a single currency.

 

He said that WAMI was established to prepare the member states of the WAMZ for Monetary Union through the attainment of a set of convergence criteria.  He observed that although the WAMZ project has been postponed twice, the will to pursue monetary integration was evident in the Banjul Declaration and Action Plan of 2005 in which member states recommitted themselves towards this goal. He noted the significant strides made thus far including the attainment of all the four primary convergence criteria by the Gambia and Nigeria in both 2006 and 2007; and the launching of the WAMZ Payments and Settlement Systems for The Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone in September 2008 to facilitate the harmonization of the payments systems in the Zone.

 

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, represented by Prof. Lambert Bamba, Commissioner, Macroeconomic Policy, Professor Lambert drew the attention of Member countries to the slow pace in the ratification and domestication of various WAMZ legal instruments and also stressed the need for member countries to implement policies and programmes that would ensure that the dream of the founding fathers of the WAMZ project was realised. 

 

The Convergence Council, chaired by Mr Moussa Gibril Bala Gaye, Secretary of State for Finance and Economic Affairs of The Gambia, considered the Report of the Committee of Governors and made the following decisions:

 

Decisions of the Convergence Council

Council took the following decisions

·        Adopted the report on Macroeconomic developments in the WAMZ during the first half of 2008, highlighting the need for coordinated strategies to stabilise the economies as well as make progress towards convergence.

·        Adopted the report on the Status of Implementation of the Banjul Declaration Action Plan.

·        Approved the convening of Heads of State Summit in the second quarter of 2009 to be preceded by the meetings of the Technical Committee, Committee of Governors and the Convergence Council.

  • Urged Member States to intensify efforts to protect the financial sector from the current global financial crisis.

·        The Fiscal Responsibility Act prepared by WAMI should be submitted to the fiscal Authorities in member countries for review before its resubmission to Council for adoption.

·        Approved the need for measures to sensitise commercial banks and bureaux de change to participate in the Regional Currency Convertibility arrangements through quoting in WAMZ currencies.

·        Urged Member States to expedite the ratification of legal instruments and deposit same with WAMI.

·        Approved and adopted the draft Banking Statute for the WAMZ.

·        Approved and adopted the revised Harmonised Guidelines on Electronic Banking.

 

Member countries reaffirmed their commitment to continue to channel their efforts toward the actualization of the single currency and a single economic space in the WAMZ by 1st December, 2009.

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West African Monetary Institute

Accra, Ghana.