CFA franc - The African Mirror

Apr

09

2024

CFA franc: conditions are ripe for replacement of the west African currency rooted in colonialism – expert

BUSINESS

AT no point in history has the CFA franc – the name of a colonial currency used in the West and Central African countries belonging to the franc zone – been closer to its demise. Senegal has overwhelmingly voted for leftwing Pastef candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye (and his former party leader Ousmane Sonko) while the coup governments in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have been talking about leaving the CFA franc for some time. Senegal under outgoing president Macky Sall was a pillar of the longstanding French attempt to remain influential among its former colonies, often named “Francafrique”. Now newly…

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger hint at a new west African currency: what it’ll take for it to succeed

BUSINESS

ON 11 February 2024, the head of Niger’s ruling military junta, General Abdourahmane Tiani, spoke of the possible creation of a common currency with Burkina Faso and Mali. “The currency is a first step toward breaking free from the legacy of colonisation,” he said on national TV, referring to the CFA franc inherited from French colonisation. THIERNO THIOUNE, enseignant-chercheur, directeur du CREA, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, three former French colonies, have experienced military coups in recent years. They’re now all ruled by military regimes. They also formed a new defence alliance, known as…

For West African juntas, CFA franc pits sovereignty against expediency

NEWS

DAYS after Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced last month they were quitting the West Africa political union ECOWAS, Burkina Faso's military ruler Ibrahim Traore was already naming his next target: the region's CFA franc currency. "It's not just the currency. Anything that maintains us in slavery, we'll break those bonds," the 35-year-old army captain turned coup leader said in an interview, posted on YouTube. The three countries jointly announced on Jan. 28 they were pulling out of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after it pressured them to restore constitutional order following a string of coups. Having…