Its the end of an era in west africa as fronts moves to scrap the currency used by its former colonies see if a friend will now become the. What is this genuine change what is to rebrand and its france really breaking its colonial on the african this is inside story. Hello everyone im come all santamaria 8 west african countries will soon be using a new currency and it may well be that you didnt even know they had an old one but the 75 years the c. F. A. Or they say i thought it would be said in french has been used as money from senegal tunisia and most places in between but not the french government officially approved the end of the c. F. A. Franc it means france will cease to comanage the west african currency the bank of france will no longer hold harf of the currency reserves and a replacement currency the eco will be introduced while keeping its Exchange Rate fixed to the euro fronts negotiated with its former colonies for 3 years for reaching a deal last year when the problems with the c. F. A. Was that it has long been seen as a sign of french interference in its former african colonies well after they became independent the currency as used by ben in became a faso Guinea Bissau ivory coast mali senegal and togo all of those except in. Is a former french colonies 7 other members of ico wants the Economic Community of West African States have their own currencies but there is a push for them to adopt the new eco is well under the new deal france will sever institutional ties with the west African State Central Bank and its Monetary Union instead it will play a backup role by guaranteeing to provide the central bank with euros if it faces a currency crunch. So lets introduce you then to todays panel starting in a budget nigeria with ken if a he is a Macro Economic policy analyst and also a consultant to the eco Us Commission in young de cameroon below a west africa analyst and chief executive director of the Africa International media group and in portsmouth in the u. K. Is tony chafee hes a professor of african and french studies at the university of portsmouth welcome to all 3 of you thank you for joining us i i want us to look forward in this discussion but i think we do need a little bit of history because as i pointed out a lot of people may not even know about the c. F. A. I was interested to see after it was created in 1905 in the till of you is this as well but the french minister of finance at the time said this in a show of her generosity and selflessness metropolitan france wishing not to impose on her faraway daughters the consequences of her own poverty is setting different Exchange Rates for their currency kenniff a let me start with you thats very benevolent sounding isnt it its after the war were doing everything we can for our faraway daughters as france said back then in reality how did it turn out i mean 75 years this has been in place and a lot of people actually look at it as a lingering sign of colonialism where the jurys out on. Some 5 years but one thing i would have to say is not. Hes a triumph for the footwell Good Relationship between france and west africa and it is to be celebrated. Not our francophone brothers have been young wanted to put us independence but that is not by any means and then to the relationship between france and wish african countries far from me because still there are 5 that they have 2 of us on the table and we pegged it equal to europe to confirm. This conference at all and it did that i think what the answers were found as we continued to negotiate with the rest of the africa where west africa one busy countries where you think i have them on one point i would think can occur and if im wrong that why why why would france guarantee the currency because this is supposed to be about it cutting its ties more isnt it and giving more independence giving independence back i know that as it is im off on the how i can not found it. So it but im not shocked members of their own members of the whole of course you didnt countries would be disposed to accept those offers but Business Issues or some goodwill that are still there still regard themselves and we all Strategic Partners in this game lets go. In and i welcome to you whats your take on well as i said to can there the success or otherwise of the last 75 years of the c. F. A. Well this year has always been a french not an african. Spotted weve choosing the name choosing all of the major aspects like setting a fixed. Congress ability deciding that all of the all the 50 percent of the Foreign Exchange coming from explore will be launched into french. And also deciding to define the initial Serious Problems dont you know initially they went 50 countries west and Central Africa and francis decided who generally to. Write the african or the single most interesting aspect which was having a common currency for the 15 counties so france has always made all decisions all Strategic Decisions about records so. They were denying they were saying you know what we have african villages we have meetings we might be friends and they have titles this and that but it has always been a french thats what can i say im going to the point sorry nothing was ever to go back to one of the points you made about the fact that the countries had to have 50 percent of their observed with the bank of france and if im correct bank of france would actually charge them more interest if they wanted to use over a certain amount i mean it was the it was it was very very postcolonial wasnt it yes that was one of the most controversial points and it when we say 50 percent it have been reduced recently the girls before that was 75 percent and even when this if you present the sick but except from the money weve. Well link with the exchanges with the what i got except you said that but hes always over 50 percent and. Did they also say that money was freely available to african countries which was not sure that you know it was not true it was a way to pluto or they be exported and lets Say International trade within countries linked to this here so that was one of the most quite a not me say you would you without you out and out to do what part of that money goes to Foreign Exchange in other places in other banks you have to be sad so people will see what will come next and think now we see that something had changed because even if it is supposedly what has changed its was breaking a taboo that in france if it was a coup in your county it has to change so they will change the name but by doing that france has managed to hijack their name created and was set up by. The eco was not. A was and and doing so there now its again the equal of us we have split the owner the you initially see your pants on now the out splitting at the last and keeping the flow of syrup out from countless in a group which is supposed to have equalize that and run its accounts so that it laid only as late as may then sorry nothing has i want to bring tony into the conversation as well it leads me to possibly actually was the original question i asked at the very start of this program is this real change or is it just as much as yours or without wanting to maybe just a reprint really. But in my view its largely a rebrand but can i just correct something that you said in your introduction that this month the end of the c. F. A. Frank desiring to see if a friend zone is actually 14 countries 8 in west africa and 6 in central. And the proposal only covers the 8 countries in west africa it doesnt help with a Central African im quite right and that was something i was going to bring up a little bit later about whether this could actually spread to the Central African trees for now though lets focus on the on the west african ones and yet go back to your point about you saying that you think this is just a rebranding. Of the c. F. A. Francs as you rightly said has its origins in the colonial period 1945. It was maintaining the run the countrys gained independence in 1960 it was maintained and it was deliberately meant tying because it was a vehicle for french influence in west africa and particularly in relation to the francophone african countries they frank sign has always been 1st and foremost a political entity not an economic and entity its a vehicle for continuing french influence in that part of the world and now as one of your previous speakers said. Francis called the shots traditionally in the c. F. A. Francs only 994. 00 they currency was evaluated by 50 percent and that was a decision time my france without consultation with any of the african partners and it happened overnight he was a 50 percent devaluation and ever since then many many africans in francophone africa have. Consider this to be a continuing. Example of french neo colonialism and and i think what we what i see the. Reform thats been announced recently as it is a rebranding of which enables france to maintain its influence in that part of the world because it was increasingly being attacked by. African africans particularly young people who saw it as a hangover from the colonial period or a denial of sovereignty. And every day it even it even became an issue in europe in the new england january 29th seeing when the deputy Prime Minister of italy luigi de mayo. Cold for sanctions on france because of its policies in africa and in particular he had in mind. That the c. F. I. The c. F. A. Francs and so theres a sense in which from his role in the c. F. A. Francs and was becoming an embarrassment to france and this is a this is a way of. While making some relatively technical changes. Maintaining as much as possible all of. The Current System and remember that the new. Currency rebranded the echo the old currency rather the c. F. A. Frankly rebranded the ecker will still be tight the euro is a fixed rate of exchange and guaranteed by the bank of fronts right then so then this will aid me and ill start maybe with kant on this one to 2 whats going to change we have to look at this and hope that in 2020 after 75 years there will be a positive change and that West African States will have more control and a say over their money and what gets where it gets invested do you think that is actually going to happen can radically thing is what rebranded because there is. Complete control now of the wanted for policy why do you have 100. 00 the difference between countries is much more costly is more cosmetic down there now the 2nd one is that it is not is one hijack of the name equal dignity history is that the arent meant has been for been manju what countries which the a one on west africa want to just dump on trees and this countrys are liberia gambia again and nigeria guinea cannot agree and sell a loan were all going to confident our currencies duiker we will continue to sleep on the deadline was slim from 2003 to 2005 to 2010 to 2014 and then finally this it is got to happen in 20 to end so why some want track were trying to get all these choruses to collapse into equal and then it is after that collapsed in equal that within 2020 will negotiate with to see if. The conversion into an equal so what has happened is that i can blame different of one country that worked out for too long so for example we take it does not apply them which and so what up on is for that company there have to. Be a deadman destiny on 22. 00 inches so that realize ducks in a grip that big you really change will come when we now all collapse everything into a single of the course country artists and that would tell where some missions because me tell you why does criteria which even have reduced to 4. Call back to west so far away from it in dollars and im not sure if you are familiar with those one of them is that we have got this angle digit inflation only 90 days in 12. 4146 percent is only took that has met all of the criteria and then have to mean is cut off of them because the d. P. Is this uncorrected out which is just. Deficit was below them 4 percent when i did i meant not substantially because by law we in context of 3 percent are we are on about 2. 5 percent Big Government is about 7 percent then you going to i dont want to watch that you want the central bank of that country was in the fiscal finance it should not be more than 10 percent of government revenue that will our difference and difficult call is not the local problem you said it was was a model of what not this is down 3 months of your sport well given nigeria oscillators i was up there to be learned in moments like and when im with you come sit up all of her all the countries so the way you can also timing of all the ones that were just so much that legends the way youre describing it can and maybe i put this to nothing in yeah and by the way ken is ascribing is that there is and its true theres a lot of work if you want to bring the existing countries and potentially more countries into this new currency theres a lot of work to do and youre dealing with countries of all sorts of Different Levels very simply it would remind me of the euro in europe and how each country has to come to a certain level to join it and its not necessarily that easy and easy to take the to remain the example of a you you see it was more of a decision to get on board all the countries they wanted to and it just the same we need to move forward. It is impossible at some time when when you we want to start to wait until everything. Matches to get but i think one of the problems we have here is the student she. France is showing towards nigeria because what is at stake here why do you think rush to announce something everybody has been expecting for sure but not in that way. And to make sure that you have one group which is which are going to be got the front of one countries in one side and the other is on the other side into all kinds you know when the president alongside with. What that announced at the end of 00 the. But when december they called on other countries outside of the france year 5 zone to join in but clearly not who are not invited nigeria and whenever you listen to french or visual arts. They be at the straight of natural being the natural pull to aggregate a new currency right and the economy giant nigeria is sort of the rival of french influence on that part of what weve got and i think this is something you have to consider and theres a long history of our. French french issue with nigeria dating back. To the yatra war and the nigerian use of rape wouldnt happen Business Partner that be asked to leave looking at 8 with. Some kind of. I would say reluctance you know so when they have tonys thoughts on that theyre not like him to catch up and what youve outlined mohair your tony your take on that idea that france in trying to extricate itself here is actually through. As nothing has described their. Economic conflict with with nigeria not in fact extricating itself in effect complicating things even further. Yes i think that i think thats absolutely right and larry rosen is absolutely right to say that there is this long standing. Mutual suspicion about each others motives between 1000. 00 area and frons that goes right back to. The be a war in 1970 when they. Were in france supported the the afrin separatists. And and france has always been. Shall we say in 2 minds about how far it was doing gauge with ecowas because there is always the if you like the elephant in the room of nigeria which is you know the Big Powerhouse its the regional hedge amount. And therefore potentially. If not actually as a threat to a continuing french influence id also like to come back to one thing the reset earlier on about. The rebranding and the reason i reason i see it as essentially a rebranding is because. Ok the. The problems wont be on the managing bullet of the currency any longer but you cant forget the fact that france is a very influential player with the francophone african countries it remains very in hold with the francophone african countries its a leading figure alongside the g 5 so help countries which of the 55. 00 francophone african countries across the across the sahara also france france will still have influence all right it wont be fully on the board but it will still have influence and so it really comes back to what i said at the beginning that you know the the frank zone as it is is a political entity that political entity doesnt fundamentally change by renaming the c. F. A. Frankly. I thought it was starting to run down the clock folks but i just want to get a couple of final questions in can a quick word from you again. About opportunity. Tell me about the opportunity as you see it because a lot of what we focused on is all there the hurdles that could be there but what if this is done right what opportunities positive opportunities come out of it for the region theres no doubt that if we can get it right it will look not you who we solve the general economy with without question but the thing is that there are substantial considerations that have to be given to woo but 980. 00 is the biggest economy in africa theres no doubt that our and the 70 percent of your callers. You can tell in historical relationships between france and all that but many countries obviously coalitions have been the thing is nigeria has the opportunity to actually become to get on top of the of the economy radom france and i dont think they will accept the new but it would answer fines to get on t. V. Screens because they have the largest reserves and by far the biggest economy and its not about political domination were talking about political integration were with now moving from local us to continental introduce a Real Movement to was the continent this or thing about competition all this lot is not there is only exist in peoples minds but about money reality could this narrative again that its also sad not to make dont issues and get to the issues are social social economic competence criteria and political competence connected or not to listen in look at look lets for you who are thinking walk together lets not disclose border terrorism because were only in one region now and then also in this fight against smuggling across the border and dumping