CFA currency not to devalue

BCEAO Central Bank Governor Ivorian born Philippe Henri Dacoury-Tabley, Governor of the Central Bank of West Africa (BCEAO),
recently assured that his institution had no plans to devalue the regional currency, the CFA Franc, for a second time. Mr. Dacoury-Tabley was speaking in Ziguinchor, capital of southern Senegalese region of Casamance, where he concluded a three-day tour of the country recently.  “Member countries of the Franc CFA zone should be aware that there is no trouble warranting a possible devaluation of our currency” the governor said. Commenting on his bank’s stance to defend the CFA currency amidst a rugged global economy, Philippe Dacoury-Tabley revealed that BCEAO has injected about one billion euros in the coffers of the central bank’s eight member countries to alleviate the effects of the global economic crisis. Explaining how strong his institution has managed to cope with the gloomy global economy, the Governor General of BCEAO said “the central bank is solid. We have substantial but significant reserves. We also have economic and financial policies that work well and as such, the financial crisis found us in a position of growth. We consequently feel good though being somehow impacted by the economic crisis.”  Mr. Dacoury-Tabley took advantage of his three day stay in the region to visit the regional branch of his bank in Ziguinchor and other financial institutions in the area. He hinted that BCEAO’s antenna of Ziguinchor suffers difficulties related to the isolation of Casamance and the inappropriate transport facilities which he said “are a real headache for his agents in the region”. He however said “the BCEAO central bank has been a participant in many attempts to end the Casamance conflict and will continue to develop economic activities in this region, since its agents are experienced to deal with all difficulties. Besides, BCEAO intends to remain always closer to the population.”  The governor’s tour took him to other industrial and economic facilities of the region such as the Casamance groundnuts and cooking oil plant of SUNEOR and the port of Ziguinchor. After he met administrative and military authorities in the region, Philip Dacoury-Tabley donated a consignment of drugs and a cash amount of one million CFA francs to the paediatric ward of Ziguinchor’s regional hospital which seriously suffers a lack of equipments and medicines.