Overview:
According to EAC Secretary-General Dr Peter Mathuki, this will allow the harmonisation of East African currencies.
The East African Council of Ministers is this year expected to make the final decision on the location of the East African Monetary Institute (EAMI), also known as the Central Bank of East Africa.
According to EAC Secretary-General Dr Peter Mathuki, this will allow the harmonisation of East African currencies.
“The EAMI will be in place this year in what will allow us to harmonize member states’ fiscal and monetary policies, then in about three years we will have a common currency in place,” he is quoted by Business Daily as telling journalists last week.
The East African member states have all been lobbying to host the EAMI, each angling to avail themselves of the massive potential to attract foreign capital and become the region’s financial hub.
With a population of about 300 million across the EAC community, the single currency is expected to ease business and movement of persons within the region.
According to statistics from the EAC secretariat, intra-regional trade within the regional bloc is on an upward trajectory, standing at USD10.17 billion by September 2022.
The EAC now has seven member states including Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and DR Congo, which formally joined the bloc in April last year.
The Monetary Union is the third step in the EAC regional integration that is expected to be capped by Political Federation. Already, EAC member states have been working on full attainment of a Customs Union and a Common Market, amid a number of challenges which include non-tariff barriers, trade blockades and closure of border points.