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Since August 30, 2022, the capital of Gabon has hosted the first edition of the States General of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (Cemac).
The colonial currency that unites the six States of the CEMAC zone is debated in the States General. the participants in this conclave mentioned in particular the merger between CEMAC and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) without forgetting the question of the CFA franc, the common currency in six Central African countries (Cameroon, the Central African , Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Chad).
This meeting is organized under the theme “Consolidation of achievements and prospects”, these works aim to make a complete diagnosis on the functioning of the Community, after the implementation of the Institutional Reform Program (PRI).
It is also a question for the participants of optimizing the institutional system in the face of the major challenges facing CEMAC.
« This reform is underway, but we have a confidentiality mandate. I don’t have to tell you what’s going on right now. But it is a will of Heads of State. People, contrary to what we hear here and there, believe that heads of state are not interested in reform. But this is absolutely false. We had a mandate, the CEMAC commission and the Central Bank made conclusions to the Heads of State on the conduct to be given to the evolution of the CFA franc “, confided the president of the CEMAC commission, the Gabonese Daniel Ona Ondo.
This reform is mentioned while the end of the CFA Franc in West Africa results from the cooperation agreement signed on December 21, 2019 between Emmanuel Macron and the governments of the member states of the West African Monetary Union.
However, the chairman of the commission assures that it is not an imitation. ” I assure you that this is not a copy-paste. Central Africa is Central Africa. West Africa is West Africa “, he underlined.
Curiosity
This reform of the CFA, however, comes a few weeks after the announcement of the circulation of new banknotes.
Announced since October 2019, the project to inject a new range of banknotes and coins into the CEMAC zone (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, CAR, Equatorial Guinea, Chad) will finally take shape. This is at least the information that emerges from the work of the ministerial committee of the Central African Monetary Union (UMAC) which was held on July 21 in Douala.
According to the Beac, the new range will come into effect from 1is January 2023, but the launch and presentation will take place in November of the current year in N’Djamena on the occasion of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Beac.
At the central bank, banknote orders for the current range have been suspended prior to the issuance of the new range, which explains the current scarcity.
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