AU Campaigns For Ratification of African Monetary Fund Statutes
By Godlove BAINKONG, Cameroon Tribune
A delegation from the continental body is in Cameroon to woo authorities to set the pace.
After at long last adopting the statutes of the African Monetary Fund by Ministers of Finance in Abuja mid this year and its endorsement by Heads of State during their summit in Malabo, another thorny issue now on the table is its ratification by the parliaments. A mission of the Economic Affairs Department of the African Union (AU) is presently in Cameroon to hold talks
with government authorities in view of getting Cameroon set the pace for the ratification by other member countries.
A delegation from the continental body is in Cameroon to woo authorities to set the pace.
After at long last adopting the statutes of the African Monetary Fund by Ministers of Finance in Abuja mid this year and its endorsement by Heads of State during their summit in Malabo, another thorny issue now on the table is its ratification by the parliaments. A mission of the Economic Affairs Department of the African Union (AU) is presently in Cameroon to hold talks
with government authorities in view of getting Cameroon set the pace for the ratification by other member countries.
The Prerequisite
In a chat with
Cameroon Tribune within the sidelines of their campaign in Cameroon,
the Director of Economic Affairs of the AU, René Kouassi, said at least
15 of the 54 countries the continent has needs to ratify the statutes
before the fund can effectively go operational. “Our mission is to
revive the file of the African Monetary Fund, hold talks with
Cameroonian authorities to come up with the best approach to advancing
the process. We had put a hold on it because we wanted the highest
authorities of the African Union (summit of Heads of State and
Government) to adopt the protocol (statutes) because without it, it was
difficult to move forward,” he said. Mr Kouassi added that they are in
Cameroon to discuss with officials of the Ministries of the Economy,
Planning and Regional Development as well as those of Finance and
External Relations to have a common approach to rendering functional the
much-heralded continental monetary fund. He noted that Cameroon that
hosts the headquarters of the fund could set the pace for others to
follow. The ratification by the parliaments, he added, would also entail
disbursing the counterpart funding by the ratified countries so as to
take the structure off the ground. With it, the AU Director of Economic
Affairs said; coming up with the policy for lending and borrowing,
drawing up its organigramme and mobilising its resources would follow
suit.
What Advantages For Cameroon?
As host
of the headquarters, experts say Cameroon stands to gain a lot in terms
of employment, as so many job opportunities will be offered as well as
infrastructure development. Constructing a structure to lodge the
offices would equally give a boost to urban development in the country.>>>
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