Liberia To Host WAMZ’s Statutory Conference

A high-level statutory conference of the Committees of the Ministers of Finance, Governors of Central Banks and the College of Supervisors of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) is slated to take pace in Monrovia from July 27-August 4, 2017.

According to a Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) release, the statutory meeting will provide member countries the opportunity to review their activities under the (WAMZ) program, share member country experiences and decide on the way forward and the transition of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) into the WAMZ Commission

Participants at the statutory meetings will make several presentations focusing on convergence reports, policy issues with highlights on reports of experts committee meeting on the WAMZ commission, vulnerability of WAMZ economies and the impact on the convergence process, managing commodity price shocks in the WAMZ and the roles of monetary and fiscal policies.

The release noted that, presentations will also be made on financial integration issues, focusing on progress report on capital market integration and SWIFT Regional Platform, partnership, as well as trade, administrative and legal issues.

The WAMZ statutory meetings are bi-annual events convened by WAMI and hosted by member states of WAMZ on a rotational basis.

The release further indicated that, at the close of the statutory meeting, reports will be compiled for review and consideration by the Committee of Governors for subsequent consideration by the Convergence of Council of Ministers and Central Bank Governors.

The Authority of the Heads of State and Governments of WAMZ, Convergence Council of Ministers and Governors which includes the Ministers of Finance, Trade, Integration, Justice Department and Governors of the Members State Central Banks, Committee of Governors, Technical Committee - Director of Research of Member Central Banks, technical staff of the Ministries of Finance, Trade Integration Parliamentarians, Civil Society, Regional Institutions, Private Sector, staff of WAMZ and other key stakeholders from the West African sub-region as well as representatives of multilateral financial institutions in Liberia are expected to attend the mid-year statutory meetings.

The West African Monitoring Zone (WAMZ) includes member countries of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) and the College of Supervisors. The member countries of WAMZ are the Gambia, Guinea, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia.