Common ECOWAS currency won’t solve forex challenges – Economist

An economist and research lead at GC Capital Limited, Courage Boti, says the introduction of a common African currency in the sub-region would not mitigate Ghana’s forex challenges.

The economist argued that there was not enough trade going on between the ECOWAS countries.

This call comes on the back of Bloomberg rating of the Ghanaian cedi as the worst-performing currency across the globe after considering a basket of 148 currencies around the world.

The cedi is selling at a little over GHS11 to the dollar.

Speaking on Citi Breakfast Show, Courage Boti says government must address the basic issues causing the depreciation.

“There is a problem beyond the common currency. It is about what percent of trade happens between us,” Br. Boti said.

“So what if we have Eco, but I don’t buy goods from Côte d’Ivoire or Nigeria or a percentage of my trade between Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and the surrounding countries are very insignificant.”

The economist also noted that West African countries would have to meet some common convergence criteria like acceptable currency stability and debt to GDP rates.

“If you do not have a kind of stability and convergence, when you introduce even the eco, it will still be very volatile and will not serve the purpose that it is intended to serve.”

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