Published: February 16, 2026
FARMINGTON — Liberia’s Finance and Development Planning Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has assumed the chairmanship of the ECOWAS Convergence Council of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, placing the country at the center of regional efforts to launch the long-planned single West African currency by July 2027.
Ngafuan took over during the council’s 13th ordinary meeting, where member states reviewed economic performance and progress toward adopting the proposed ECO currency — a project repeatedly delayed for more than two decades.
“With July 2027 now set as the horizon, we no longer have the luxury of drifting,” Ngafuan said. “The moment requires decisive action and rigorous implementation.”
What the Council Oversees
The Convergence Council coordinates economic policy among ECOWAS states and monitors compliance with monetary-union conditions, including limits on inflation, fiscal deficits, central bank financing, exchange-rate stability, debt sustainability and foreign-reserve adequacy.
The council’s work is considered critical to determining whether the region can safely adopt a shared currency without destabilizing national economies. The ECO initiative — originally conceived in the early 2000s — has been repeatedly postponed as countries struggled to simultaneously meet macroeconomic benchmarks and resolve political questions surrounding sovereignty and institutional control of a future regional central bank.
Region Faces Credibility Test
Outgoing chair, Sierra Leone Finance Minister Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura, warned that progress remains uneven.
Of 130 time-bound activities in the monetary-union roadmap, he said:
• 38% have been completed
• 47% missed deadlines
• 12% remain within schedule
“Each additional delay erodes credibility, increases transaction costs and risks fragmentation that undermines trade and investment,” Bangura said.
Officials said unresolved political questions — including burden-sharing arrangements, monetary sovereignty and the eventual headquarters of a regional central bank — remain major obstacles to the ECO’s launch.
ECOWAS Commission representative Dr. Kalilou Sylla urged governments to move beyond declarations.
“Four hundred million West Africans are waiting for a signal from us,” he said.
Liberia’s Economic Position
Ngafuan reported that Liberia improved performance across the bloc’s convergence indicators in 2025, with growth estimated at 5.1% and projected to rise to 5.4% in 2026. Inflation is also expected to decline.
He said the country could meet at least three primary convergence benchmarks and both secondary criteria by the end of 2026.
Across ECOWAS, growth rose from 4.3% in 2024 to about 4.8% in 2025, with four countries expected to meet all primary requirements and eight projected to meet at least three.
Representing President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Justice Minister Oswald Tweh reaffirmed Liberia’s support for macroeconomic discipline and regional integration.
Central Bank Data Shows Improving Fundamentals
Supporting Ngafuan’s outlook, Central Bank of Liberia Executive Governor Henry F. Saamoi disclosed that Liberia met four of the six ECOWAS macroeconomic convergence criteria in 2025 — an improvement driven by tighter fiscal policy and stronger external balances.
“Total government revenue and grants rose by 18.6 percent in the first half of 2025,” Saamoi said, noting the gains allowed Liberia to keep its fiscal deficit within the ECOWAS ceiling of 3% of GDP.
Public debt fell to about 54.2% of GDP in 2025, well below the West African Monetary Zone benchmark of 70%.
“These ratios — deficit-to-GDP and debt-to-GDP — demonstrate significant progress in fiscal consolidation,” he said.
External Sector Strengthens
Liberia’s external position also improved markedly.
Exports rose by more than 30%, while gross foreign reserves increased by $101 million to $575.5 million. Net international reserves climbed from $234 million in 2024 to over $282 million by end-December 2025, exceeding the IMF program target by nearly $16 million.
The Liberian dollar depreciated only 0.9% against the U.S. dollar during the year — comfortably within the ECOWAS secondary convergence band of ±10% — and appreciated 3.2% compared with December 2024 on an end-period basis.
Regional Convergence Slowly Improving
At the regional level, ECOWAS economies expanded by about 4.5% in 2025, with growth projected at 5% in 2026. Inflation across the bloc declined from 23.3% in 2024 to 16.8% in 2025.
The Director General of the West Africa Monetary Institute, Abdul Salam Abideyemi, said the West African Monetary Zone composite convergence score rose to 58.3%, up from 50% the previous year.
“These outcomes suggest gradual macroeconomic adjustment and stronger policy coordination,” he said, citing progress in legal harmonization, financial supervision, capital-market integration and payment-system reforms.
Still, officials cautioned that inflation persistence, fiscal imbalances in some states anda and high debt-service burdens continue to threaten timelines.
Path Toward the ECO
The convergence framework measures how closely member states align on agreed macroeconomic benchmarks required for monetary union. Meeting four of six criteria places Liberia in a stronger position than in previous assessment cycles, but full compliance across all benchmarks remains necessary before a single currency can be launched.
Ngafuan’s chairmanship, therefore, places Liberia in a dual role, both subject to the rules and responsible for steering the region toward compliance.
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