The 29th ordinary meeting of the Monetary Affairs Committee (MAC) of the East African Community was held recently at the Lake Victoria Serena.
Bank of Uganda Governor Micheal Atingi-Ego also current chairperson for the Monetary Affairs Committee, chaired the meeting in Kampala.
The Governors/ Heads of Delegations from seven (7) EAC partner state central banks reviewed the progress made on the path towards an East African Monetary Union and a single currency by 2031, each reiterating their commitment to the economic integration agenda.
The meeting noted the uneven progress that partner states have made against the macroeconomic convergence targets that were agreed in 2013 to pave the way for a common currency by harmonizing monetary and exchange rate policies, payment and settlement systems, financial sector supervision, and statistics.
Governor Atingi-Ego said, “Our commitment to the Monetary Union is not in question — but a candid review shows that we are consistently falling short of the convergence criteria, including the reserve and inflation targets that fall squarely within our central banks’ mandates.
Continued divergence from these criteria risks eroding the credibility of our shared vision of monetary and political integration.
To correct course, we must strengthen peer review mechanisms and anchor binding national action plans in rigorous fiscal consolidation timelines and harmonized policy frameworks, enforced through transparent regional surveillance and compliance protocols.
