Fifteen countries in the West African region are seeking to establish a common currency to deal with, similar to the European euro, with the aim of strengthening the economic zone. This dream has been pursued by the fifteen countries for more than forty years.
However, this project has not yet been able to overcome all obstacles until it becomes a reality, and Eko - the name of the currency - is the only thing that is clear in this project, which in its English version symbolizes the Economic Community of West African States.
In a report published by the Spanish newspaper "Lavango Guardia", the author Judit Vives said that the idea of a single currency began in 1975 after the establishment of the Economic Community of West African States. Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, as well as Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Initially, the group planned to activate this new currency in 2009, but the matter had to be postponed to 2012 and then to 2015, without success in achieving the goal, and the group countries are to adopt this currency this year.
The launch of the currency name "Eco" came in June 2019 at a meeting organized by the Economic Community of West African States committee in Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast.
However, many people expressed their dissatisfaction with the suggestion of the name, considering it to be creative and not related to the region.
Thanks to this common currency, the countries of the Economic Community of West African States will enjoy more trade facilitation among themselves, as well as with regard to international export and import of products.
From franc to eco
Currently, there is already a common currency among many of these countries, and in this framework, eight countries of the Economic Community of West African States have used the CFA franc currency since 1945.
France imposed this currency on its former colonies, that is, the lands that it controlled throughout the twentieth century to use its resources and expand its influence, and this type of currency is printed in France, knowing that many people consider this currency a colonial heritage in the region.
The value of the CFA franc is linked to the value of the currency currently used in France, which is the euro.
According to experts, this fact will give economic stability to the region, but also prevent African countries from making a decision about the value of their currency, which is sometimes used as an economic strategy, such as facilitating the import or export of products, and in addition to that, countries that use the franc should deposit 50% of their reserves. In the French treasury and accepting the presence of the former colonial state in government bodies.
However, French President Emmanuel Macron and President of Ivory Coast Hassan Abdel-Rahman and Tara announced at the end of 2019 the end of trading in the CFA franc to make way for the single ECO currency, and the issue of the linkage of the value of the new currency to the euro is currently expected to continue.
Different economies
The Economic Community of West African States contains very strong economies, such as the Nigerian economy, but it also includes some of the poorest countries in the world such as Niger, and in fact Nigeria is one of the most influential countries in the group.
With more than 196 million people in 2018, Nigeria includes more than half the population of the countries of the region. Moreover, the country produces approximately two thirds of the region's gross domestic product, which is the value of products or services that are created in a country during a specific period.
Because of these differences between the economies of the countries of the Economic Community of West African States, countries like Nigeria do not want to become part of the Echo currency without fulfilling the guarantees, for example Ghana and Nigeria do not want the single currency to be equal to the value of the euro, because they want to maintain a kind of economic independence .
Countries that want to be part of the Echo coin must meet a series of economic requirements that indicate that they have some degree of economic strength.
Among these conditions is a deficit of less than 3%, an inflation rate of less than 10%, and the debt ratio not exceeding 70% of GDP, but no country complied with these requirements in 2018, and that was the obstacle that prevented the implementation of the single African currency project .
Given the extent of economic differences, priorities and ideas between countries, it is not yet known whether the Echo currency will be treated as a single currency and not only as an alternative to the CFA franc currency in 2020, or that implementation of the order will be delayed again.