Prometheus 6   

African Money Good, But Fix Politics First
The Monitor (Kampala)
August 20, 2003
Kampala

African central bank chiefs are mulling over the almost utopian thought of having a single currency for the continent. If for nothing else, the notion is a good one.

The 27th meeting of the Association of African Central Banks currently sitting in Kampala has also stated that the success of any proposed monetary union will be pegged on political backing from the respective governments.

Now, while there is on-going thinking around this idea, everyone involved must reflect on why almost all post-colonial regional bodies have ended up as talking shops for politicians with over-inflated egos.

Some Sub-Saharan African countries did try to set up an economic body, the Preferential Trade Area, in the 1980s but not very much has come out of it.

A new experiment is currently underway to revive the East African Community (EAC). The EAC collapsed in 1977 because of irreconcilable differences between the leaders of the three countries.

The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) appears to be the only example of anything near success. Ecowas has shown promise in handling political upheaval, first in Sierra Leone and now in Liberia.

At the July 8, 2002 launching of the African Union in Durban, South Africa, that country's President, Thabo Mbeki, said it is time for the continent to "take its rightful place in global affairs". He also said that through this body, which replaced the moribund Organisation of African Unity, the marginalisation of Africa would be fought.

Mbeki's pronouncement and the bankers' noises about monetary union can become a reality only after the continent fixes its politics. Today, most of the countries are stuck with corrupt dictators, either of the benevolent sort or the more common brutal variety. With this type of leadership in place, you do not expect to build a sustainable political foundation upon which economic integration can thrive.

We must first get rid of the predator regimes that are destroying many African countries before we can even begin to entertain thoughts of integration in all its aspects. To paraphrase a famous quote: It is the politics!