By Linus Aleke
A Professor of Economics, Department of Economics and Development Studies, Covenant University Ota Ogun State, and Consultant on the ECOWAS Common Investment Market, Prof. Jonathan Aremu, has said that the use of multiple currencies across the ECOWAS Member States is one of the constraints of actualizing economic integration in West Africa.
Aremu said this in Bissau, while delivering a paper titled “Conceptual Issues in ECOWAS Integration,” at the ongoing during Parliamentary Seminar of the ECOWAS Parliament in Guinea Bissau.
The Seminar with the theme “ECOWAS Common Currency and the Interbank Payment System as Promoters of Regional Trade,” is aimed at holding discussions on the practicability of single currency -ECO, in West Africa.
Aremu, said, the use of a common currency in amongst ECOWAS member countries will help achieve the Economic/Monetary Union.
He said: “Economic/Monetary Union is the last step in an economic integration process; where in addition to a common market, it also requires integration of economic policies in both monetary and fiscal, including common currency”.
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He noted that harmonizing the monetary policies of each member state is also key to actualizing the ECOWAS economic integration to break trade barriers and the implementation of the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS).
Prof. Aremu explained that the ETLS, if successfully implemented will make ECOWAS economically stronger and more attractive.
“As ETLS makes West Africa a more integrated market, that is attractive to investors both within and outside the region, the initiative indirectly creates a platform that increases Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) visibility.
And bargaining power when negotiating further agreements like trade and investment across the continent into the global trading arrangements under the World Trade Organization (WTO)”.
He said that effective implementation of ETLS will not only enhance increasing trade between ECOWAS Member states but create a web of positive interactions and interdependency, that would build trust and reduce the risk.
In conclusion, he urged the bloc to learn from the experience of other regions that have successfully integrated their regional economies.
