Converting currencies in Africa costs $5billion annually – AfCFTA boss

The Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area, (AfCFTA) Mr Wamkele Mene, has revealed that the cost involved in converting African currencies into dollars stands at 5billion dollars annually.

He explained that this is not only monetary cost but also it is a cost of lack of competitiveness in terms of being competitive, access to affordable currency exchange facilities, lack of affordability of small medium enterprises who want to trade across borders, across regions.

To address this issues a part of efforts to make the AfCFTA work, he said said a new payment system, Pan African Payments and Settlements has been launched to assist member states to trade using a single currency.

This will resolve the challenges of using third currency to trade, he said.

He was speaking at an AfCFTA media briefing for the 8th Meeting of the Council of Ministers, on Saturday January 29

“You will know that on the 13th of January, here in Accra, we launched the Pan African Payments and Settlements System which will enable us to now start trading among ourselves as African countries using a local currency rather than a third currency.

“We have 42 currencies in Africa. The cost of currency convertibility according our studies, is in excess of 5billion dollars a year and this is not only monetary cost but also it is a cost of lack of competitiveness constrains in terms of being competitive, access to affordable currency exchange facilities, lack of affordability of small medium enterprises who want to trade across borders, across regions.