Economist questions ECOWAS member states’ commitment to ECO currency rollout
A lecturer of economics at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Professor Godfred Bokpin, has questioned the commitment of ECOWAS member states to implementing the ECO currency.
Recently, a technical committee reported that member states failed to meet the criteria for ECO’s introduction, which encompassed maintaining a single-digit inflation rate annually, limiting the fiscal deficit to no more than 4% of GDP, and ensuring central bank deficit-financing remained below 10% of the previous year’s tax revenues.
In response, a technical committee has been assigned the task of reevaluating the roadmap and convergence pact for member nations during the Monetary Zone Conference held in Accra, Ghana.
Regarding these developments, Professor Godfred Bokpin commented, stating that member states have not demonstrated a willingness to undertake the necessary fiscal and monetary measures to achieve the envisioned goal.
He expressed concerns about the “prolonged discussions surrounding the ECO, questioning whether member countries are genuinely committed to the requisite fiscal policy discipline and prudent monetary policies needed to achieve macroeconomic convergence.”
Source: Ghana Business
