Yaoundé to be capital of Franc CFA in 2016

Finance Ministers, Central Bank Governors and the presidents of the regional institutions of the franc Zone met in Paris-Bercy, under the chairmanship of Michel Sapin, French Minister of Finance and Public Accounts.

The meeting, which was held on October 2, was during the second biannual meeting of Finance Ministers of the Franc zone, after the first which was held in Bamako, Mali, in April 2015.

One of the resolutions, according to the press release, was the organization of the third meeting of its kind in Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon in the first half of the year 2016. The Paris meeting of October 2, 2015 had allowed participants to prepare their position during the meeting between the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which will be held from October 9 to 11, 2015, at Lima, Peru.

The main interest of this meeting had been based on the statement by Michel Sapin, about the future of the CFA Franc. The French Minister of Finance and Public Accounts had said: “this discussion by both is perfectly legitimate. I quite understand that we sought to see the advantages and possible disadvantages depending on the situation. If there is any found from the academic or political level of the proposals, we will discuss together with this spirit of respect and equality.”

Since then, voices raised within the elite African and Cameroon in particular, to either criticize the currency, to illuminate more on the advantages and the disadvantages of membership of 15 African countries in the Franc Zone. The announced meeting in Yaoundé will obviously be awaited. Maybe it will be the beginning of reform which is so desired.