he people have their say in the announced reform of the CFA franc which has not been sufficiently discussed and debated by the populations of the countries concerned, said Saturday in Dakar, Elimane Haby Kane, president of the association Leadership, Equity, Governance and Strategy (LEGS- AFRICA).
« There is not enough debate, especially at the level of the people, on the issue of the ongoing reform of the CFA franc. Our heads of state take decisions without first discussing them with their peoples, » he said at a public conference organised on the issue by LEGS-AFRICA, a pan-African initiative for scientific, political, economic and social orientation.
The meeting, led by economists and finance experts, was on the theme: « Money, banks, development financing and democratic sovereignty: The challenges of CFA franc reforms ».
« Here in Senegal, we have never heard the state initiate discussions and debates on the issue of CFA franc reform. We have only heard French President Emmanuel Macron and his Ivorian counterpart Alassane Ouattara announce this reform of the CFA franc which will be replaced by the Eco. We say that this debate must take place, » he said.
According to Mr. Kane, the issue of CFA franc reform is not only technical. It also has a political and psycho-social dimension. « The issue of currency is a political issue of sovereignty that a state must take to better manage its economy. It also has a psycho-social dimension, » he said.
« For example, a Senegalese who uses the CFA franc on a daily basis, wakes up one day and learns that this currency will change, but he will ask himself a lot of questions. And we must provide answers to these questions, » he added.
In his view, sovereignty implies that countries must have control over their monetary policy, and for this, « we must let the people express themselves because we must stop infantilising the African people.
« We must be able to think for ourselves. We know what is best for us, and we want to get out of this servitude imposed on us since colonisation. It is time we decided for ourselves what concerns our future, » concluded Mr. Kane.
The LEGS-AFRICA association is a »think tank » bringing together the new generation of the African elite to promote citizenshiṕ of transformation in Africa.
