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Monetary Policy

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International Development

At the Summit of African Heads of States and Governments in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on May 25, 1963, it was agreed to set up a preparatory Economic Committee to study a broad range of monetary and financial issues, with the assistance of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in collaboration with member governments. The Association of African Central Banks (AACB), which first met from February 15 to 22, 1965 in Addis Ababa, was one of the outcomes of the agreement of the 1963 Summit. As at August 17, 2011 there were forty member-central banks of the Association.

By the Statutes of the Association (as amended at Kampala, Uganda on August 19, 2003), its objectives are:

1. To promote co-operation in the monetary, banking and financial spheres in the African region;
2. To assist in the formulation of guidelines along which agreements among African countries in the monetary, banking and financial fields shall be reached;
3. To help in strengthening all efforts aimed at bringing about and maintaining price stability and financial stability in the African region;
4. To examine the effectiveness of international economic and financial institutions in which African countries have an interest and suggest ways of possible improvement;
5. To envisage, following a well-timed and sequenced convergence process, the advent of a single currency and a common central bank in Africa.

Currently, the Association is collaborating with the African Union in formulating and implementing the African Monetary Cooperation Programme (AMCP). Ground work for the establishment of the African Central Bank is now going on through the Steering Committee manned by experts from the African Union and the AACB. The Steering Committee Secretariat is in Abuja, Nigeria. Two other monetary institutions agreed by the AU, the African Monetary Fund and the African Investment Bank, are also being set up in collaboration with the Association.

In terms of structure and organisation, the AACB has the following organs:

1. The Assembly of Governors;
2. Bureau;
3. Sub-Regional Committees; and
4. Executive Secretariat.

The Assembly of Governors is the governing body of the Association. From among its members the Assembly of Governors elect the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Association who shall hold office for a period of one year. The Bureau of the Association consists of the Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson and the Chairpersons of each sub-region or their proxies. The composition of the Bureau elected for the financial year 2011-2012 at the 35th Ordinary Meeting of the Assembly of Governors held on August 12, 2011 in Lilongwe, Malawi is as follows:

1. Dr. Perks Ligoya, Chairperson of the AACB, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi;
2. M. Mohammed Laksaci, Vice-Chairperson of the AACB, Governor of the Banque d'Algérie;
3. M. Sid'Ahmed Ould Raiss, Chairperson of the Northern Africa Sub-Regional Committee, Governor of the Banque Centrale de Mauritanie;
4. M. Gaspard Sindayigaya, Chairperson of the Eastern Africa Sub-Regional Committee, Governor of the Banque de la République du Burundi;
5. Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Chairperson of the Western Africa Sub-Regional Committee, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; and
6. M. Lucas Abaga Nchama, Chairperson of the Central Africa Sub-Regional Committee, Governor of the Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale (BEAC).

The Bureau meets at least once a year in what is known as the Ordinary Meeting of the Bureau. It is responsible for: the implementation of the decisions of the Assembly of Governors; the co-ordination of the activities and the preparations for the meetings of the Association; the supervision and control of the activities of the Secretariat; and the supervision and control of the management of the accounts of the Association. On February 27 and 28, 2012, Technical Experts of the Bureau met in Abuja Nigeria to prepare for the first meeting of the Bureau in 2012 on February 29, 2012.

There are five (5) Sub-Regional Committees in the Association, namely: Northern Africa, Western Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa and Southern Africa sub-regions. Each Sub-regional Committee is made up of the central bank Governors or Presidents and Heads of similar member Monetary Institutions in the Sub-Region. Each Sub-Regional Committee elects a Chairperson from among its members under such conditions as it may lay down.

The Executive Secretariat provides the venue for the meetings of the Association and performs any other duties the Assembly of Governors may assign to it. The functions and organisation of the Secretariat is specified in a separate document (not the Statutes) as approved by the Assembly of Governors. Currently, the Secretariat is in Senegal, hosted by the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique Ouest (BCEAO).

The expenses involved in running the Secretariat and organising the meetings of the Bureau and those related to the administrative expenses of the meetings of the Assembly of Governors shall be in accordance with the annual budget of the Association as approved by the Assembly of Governors.

In carrying out its functions, the Association shall seek to establish and maintain appropriate relations with international and regional organizations pursuing similar or related purposes.

Visit the AFDB website - http://www.afdb.org/
Visit the AACB website - http://www.aacb.org
Visit the World Bank Website - http://www.worldbank.org
Visit WAIFEM website - http://www.waifem.org/
Visit the ECOWAS website - http://www.ecowas.int/
Visit the WAMI website - http://www.wami-imao.org/
Visit WAMA website - http://www.wama-amao.org/
Visit NEPAD website - http://www.nepad.org/
The IMF website - http://www.imf.org
Read Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Monetary Policy