ECOWAS okays $187m capital base for regional central bank

By Cynthia Ezekwe 

Member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have agreed on $187 million as capital base for the proposed Central Bank of West Africa to fund infrastructure development as well as  to provide solid liquidity  for the region.

Omar Alieu Touray,the president of the ECOWAS Commission, said this recently, while presenting the status of the community at the first ordinary session  of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja.

He noted  that studies on the size and distribution of the capital and reserve pooling were  finalised, adding  that the criteria for pooling reserve, the voting system and establishment of the solidarity and stabilisation fund for ECOWAS are still in progress.

However, Touray explained that the region is still grappling with the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of macroeconomic convergence, adding that the situation of the region deteriorated  further in 2022 compared to 2021.

“ The performance in terms of macroeconomic convergence of the member States, the preliminary data from member States in 2022 showed negative impact of lingering effects of COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukraine war, which have put more pressure on member States performance in terms of macroeconomic convergence,” he said.

The president of the commission emphasised that in response to the challenges facing the community, the commission has embarked on numerous activities and increased efforts towards economic and monetary Union and efforts to deploy the right infrastructure to address the deficits in the community as well as  building bridges and the connectivity necessary for economic integration and improvement in the well-being of the people.

Additionally, he noted that other areas of interest where the commission has made great efforts include; investment in human capital development in the community, humanitarian assistance to citizens who are victims of both man-made and natural disasters and promoting gender equality and youth empowerment.