He gave this assurance at a virtual meeting organised for Member States of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) this morning.
The Gambian leader said the ECOWAS Authority has made progress on the proposed introduction of the ECOWAS Single Currency by the year 2020. The Francophone countries in ECOWAS, through its West African Economic and Monetary Union (UMOEA) also recently announced a similar programme with opposing exchange rate monetary policies within the same region.
“There is need, therefore, to review these decisions in line with Article 15 of the 48th Ordinary session of the Authority of the Heads of States and Governments of 16th December 2015,” President Barrow told the meeting, attended by Presidents of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria.
Since 2017, The Gambia has constantly achieved three of the four primary convergence criteria, missing only the Budget deficit criterion. Similarly, on the secondary convergence criteria, The Gambia has consistently achieved one of the two criteria, missing the public debt-GDP ratio.
Decisions have been made already on the name and symbol of the future currency; the exchange rate regime, the monetary policy framework, the model Central Bank, and the name of the common Central Bank.
However, the West Africa Monetary Zone Convergence Council wrote to the ECOWAS Commission to “constructively engage” both the ECOWAS Commission and West African Economic and Monetary Union Member States on issues of concern to the Zone’s Convergence Council in respect of the Single Currency Programme earlier this year.
The Gambian President urged that the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Zone should provide guidance on this crucial issue, calling for a review of the parallel monetary programmes in the West Africa sub region.
“I will emphasise here that The Gambia remains committed to the revised roadmap of the ECOWAS Monetary Cooperation Programme. This commitment has been translated into sustained improvements on achieving the set of macroeconomic convergence criteria,” he said.
Meanwhile, the meeting Chaired by the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, H.E Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone concluded with two propositions:
Dr. Dawda Badgie, the Deputy Executive Director of the National Environment Agency has warned that Chemicals are important determinants for sustainable development, sound environmental health and quality of life.
Accompanied by a high-powered delegation including Honourable Speaker of the National Assembly, Mariama Jack-Denton, Ministers of Energy and Petroleum, Hon. Fafa Sanyang,Gender, Children and Social Welfare, Hon. Fatou Kinteh, Basic and Secondary Education, Hon Claudiana Cole, Hon. Amie Fabureh, Permanents Secretaries and other Gambian officials, The Gambian Vice President Dr Isatou Touray, was at King Fahad Palace in the Senegalese capital of Dakar to grace the African Platform for the Women Empowerment forum.
Kebba Bah, a resident of Barra and former police officer yesterday testified before the TRRC, giving account of the manner in which West African migrants were captured in The Gambia’s territory and allegedly killed on the orders of former President Yahya Jammeh.
An assessment of the impact of scaling down on the Gambian economy has produced uncomfortable results and that the economy will lose GMD2.5 billion and shrink by 3 percentage points – from the projected growth rate of 6.3 per cent in 2020 to 3.3 per cent due to covidd-19 pandemic, a media release from Office of the President reveals. The government also announced it has lifted the State of Public Emergency (SOPE)
