Experts warn against rush to single currency

By John Oyuke

African economists have cautioned against any rush to create a single African currency.

They called for a gradual approach to factor risks that may arise with such a venture.

The First Congress of African Economists meeting Nairobi said yesterday Africa must not adopt new concepts just for the sake of it.

"We, African Economists are convinced that Africa needs to be wary of thrusting herself into a blind conformism and allow African economists and experts to express their African expertise on such crucial issues pertaining to the continent," they said.

The academicians and researchers resolved to jointly develop a roadmap on creation of a common African currency agreeable to aspirations of Africans and their political leaders.

Unit Implications

The economists from Africa and the Diaspora have been meeting in Nairobi on the initiative of the African Union Commission.

The theme of the Congress; Towards the creation of a single African currency: Review of the creation of a single African currency: which optimal approach to be adopted to accelerate the creation of the unique continental currency?

The congress said in a communiquÈ that the economists recognised that a single currency is key to providing pillars for monetary policies and credit and expanding intra-African trade.

However, they said creation of a single African currency should follow a progressive process considering economic and financial performances of the continent’s socio-political realities. A participant, Jonathan Addison, however, suggested that a single currency for Africa is a long way off and that there should be other priorities for Africa in seeking economic independence and growth in the standard of living for most Africans. A paper presented by Addison argued for the creation of a supra-national body (or bodies) that would play part of the role of a central bank and impose fiscal and monetary policy constraints on national governments and thus move towards currency stability.

"This is more important than the creation of a single currency," the paper added.

Planning and National Development Minister Wycliffe Oparanya acknowledged hurdles facing creation of the single currency but said African countries need to persist with the idea.