The move to launch a common central bank for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries is being reconsidered after the economic problems that have hit the European Union (EU), which uses the euro as a common currency.

The governor of the Central Bank of Seychelles Caroline Abel said this to Nation in an interview at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay resort where representatives of SACD countries’ central banks discussed a number of issues while seeking to harmonise operations of the banks.

“A regional central bank is still a long way to go because the governors have asked that the whole issue be looked at again given what is going on in the EU about the convergence criteria since September last year,” she said.

“This is why this (Central Bank Governors’ macroeconomic) subcommittee is discussing the issue now.
Ms Abel said the outcome of the meeting will be presented to the governors in April.

“We are looking at certain elements we may not have looked at before,” she told Nation.
When launching the meeting on Monday, Ms Abel told the delegates that, “In view of the recent developments in the biggest monetary union – the EU – it will be interesting to see how things evolve in our region given our diverse economies.”

She said it was important to keep in mind the need to understand the effects of different economic structures, geographical conditions and levels of development on the union they were seeking.

“Some initiatives have been taken to assess the merits and challenges faced by SADC members in the process of integration.”

She said the main aim is not only to harmonise the legal and operational framework and thus enable integration, but to also harness the opportunities that lie in those differences, “maximising them in such a way as to be beneficial”.

“Aside from its overarching goal of ensuring that central banks attain macroeconomic convergence, this committee’s work enriches and helps towards capacity building of our individual monetary institutions,” she said.

She said research done by the subcommittee would give members the opportunity to strengthen their research techniques and draw on the pool of experience that exists among them.

Forrás: www.nation.sc