Who benefits from the CFA franc? This is the question placed under the subtitle of a new work entitled “Bringing Africa out of monetary bondage”.

A collaborative work that bears the pen of four renowned economists, specialists in monetary issues and the African economy: Kako Nubukpo, Bruno Tinel, the Senegalese Demba Moussa Dembelé (president of ARCADE, director of the African Forum for Alternatives) and the Cameroonian Martial Ze Belinga (teacher in economics and international trade).

The first, a former Togolese minister of forecasting, has been stationed at the International Organization of the Francophonie (Paris) for a few months, as director of the economic and digital Francophonie. He is well known for having openly criticized the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and its monetary policy.

Bruno Tinel, lecturer at Paris1-Panthéon-Sorbonne University, is the author of the famous book “Public debt: emerging from catastrophism”. Announced to be available in bookstores from October 3, the book (published by La Dispute, with the support of the Gabriel Péri foundation) will be at the heart of a meeting-debate this September 16 in Paris.

“This collective work is a continuation of the colloquium organized in the Senate on September 17, 2015 by the Gabriel Péri foundation, the PCF Africa collective and the Rosa Luxemburg foundation from Germany,” said one. “It analyzes the economic and political challenges and possible alternatives to the Franc of the African Financial Community (CFA) created in 1945 and in progress in the Comoros and in fourteen states in Africa”.

“A currency that is too strong, disconnected from economic realities”

In their book, we continue in his presentation, the authors “demonstrate that the economies of these countries suffer from an excessively strong currency, disconnected from economic realities due to its pegging to the Euro. It is moreover evident today that the main objective of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) and its sister, the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) is the defense of exchange rate between the CFA Franc and the Euro and the limit of inflation, to the detriment of any other consideration such as economic growth or the satisfaction of social needs ”.

Thus they take as proof, 11 of the 15 member countries of the CFA zone, classified as “least developed countries” by the United Nations. “(…) It becomes almost impossible to conduct a lasting monetary policy different from that of the anchor zone, that is to say the Euro zone”.

Outside the Comoros, the CFA is the common currency of the WAEMU States on the one hand (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo), and CEMAC d ‘on the other hand (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of the Congo, Chad).

However, Michel Sapin, French Minister of Finance declared during the last semi-annual meeting of the Franc zone (Yaoundé, April 8 and 9, 2016) that his country was open to the debate relating to its development: “France is not there to decide for the countries concerned, “he said. “If ideas, if proposals are made by the political leaders of the countries concerned, France is obviously open to any development”.

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Comme beaucoup de personnes j’ai connu l’Afrique à travers des stéréotypes : l’Afrique est pauvre, il y a la guerre, famine… Je suis devenu entrepreneur pour briser ces clichés et participer à la construction du continent. J’ai lancé plusieurs entreprises dont Kareea (Formation et développement web), Tutorys (Plate-forme de e-learning), AfrikanFunding (Plate-forme de crowdfunding). Après un échec sur ma startup Tutorys, à cause d’une mauvaise exécution Business, un manque de réseau, pas de mentor, je suis parti 6 mois en immersion dans l’écosystème Tech au Sénégal. J’ai rencontré de nombreux entrepreneurs passionnés, talentueux et déterminés. A mon retour sur Paris je décide de raconter leur histoire en créant le média AfrikaTech. L'objectif est de soutenir les entrepreneurs qui se battent quotidiennement en Afrique en leur offrant la visibilité, les connaissances, le réseautage et les capitaux nécessaires pour réussir. L'Afrique de demain se construit aujourd'hui ensemble. Rejoignez-nous ! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boubacardiallo

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