Anthony Maruping, AU Commissioner for Economic Affairs, said the Union was mooting the idea to adopt a single currency, as part of the Agenda 2063 road map.

He said in Johannesburg on Friday that it was aimed at connecting Africa through world class infrastructure with a concerted push to finance and implement major projects.

Maruping said all African central bank governors have already met and deliberated on the establishment of an African monetary fund.

He expressed the hope that the move would be the end result of the Agenda 2063.

Maruping said leaders of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi have already signed a protocol in Kampala for the adoption of a common currency in the
next 10 years.

He said many economists and experts believed that the ambitious programme of an African single currency was achievable. “The Payment Systems Steering Committee of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has also proposed a system to facilitate cross-border payment and settlement.

“This system will allow the settlement of payment transactions in a central location on the basis of a single currency.

“This model will initially be tested on the current common Monetary Area countries that use the South African rand,” he said.

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