Bank of Ghana Governor expresses doubt on new Eco adoption strategy

July 23, 2019 2:17 PM

Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, has revealed that the strategy for the adoption of the Eco, as a common currency for the West Africa sub-region, could fall short again.

Dr Ernest Addison, Bank of Ghana Governor

According to him the adoption of the common currency must be started by at least countries in the region that trade significantly among themselves.

Dr Addison made the revelation while speaking at the Monetary Policy Committee’s press conference in Accra on Friday, July 19, 2019.

The leadership of the Economic Community of West Africa States (Ecowas) last month met in Abuja where one of the resolutions was for member-countries to adopt the common currency, Eco effective 2020.

Their roadmap is to ensure that all member countries meet three primary criteria for the adoption of the currency.

The criteria for adoption included member countries having a budget deficit of not more than 3%; average annual inflation of less than 10% with a long-term goal of not more than 5% by 2019.

But the governor of the Bank of Ghana told the media that the announcement made by Ecowas could face some setbacks that need to be addressed immediately.