News in Brief

Hopes to Get African Monetary Union Back on Track

The East African Community (EAC) has re-established the region’s Monetary Affairs Committee (MAC) following the appointment of new heads of central banks, bringing hope for new ideas to get the implementation of a single currency for the region back on track, after the initial deadline of 2024 was extended to 2031.

The EAC is an intergovernmental organisation with eight member states – Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania.

They signed the Protocol on the Establishment of the East African Community Monetary Union (EAMU) in 2013 in Kampala, aiming to establish the East African Monetary Institute and launch a single currency by 2024.

The target was revised after member states failed to meet a range of economic convergence criteria.

Another stumbling block has been the failure of the partners to agree on which country would host the East African Monetary Institute (EAMI), the precursor to central bank for the union and a crucial complement in establishing the single currency. The failure to reach agreement took place in 2022, since when six out of the eight central banks of member states have seen new governors appointed.