The Acting Governor of
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Sarah Alade, has urged African countries to show more commitment toward regional single currency convergence.
Alade made the call at the caucus meeting of African Central Bank Governor’s at the ongoing 7th joint annual meeting of African union and Finance Ministers of Economy,  in Abuja.
The theme of the summit is ‘ Industrialisation for inclusive and transformative Development in Africa’’.
“Most African central banks recorded relative success in keeping inflation within a tolerable threshold which could be attributed to effective and proactive monetary policy stance.
“However, there is still room for improvement, especially in the achievement of the primary convergence criteria for sub-regional integration.
“In this regard, all member countries are advised to strive to meet their respective sub-regional convergence criteria, which is a precursor of African Monetary cooperation and adoption of single currency,” she said.
Alade said the caucus meeting would focus on the appropriateness of the mandate of the central banks for African industrialisation, the need for inclusive financial payment system stability and promotion of investors’ confidence in Africa, among others.
The acting governor said that although focus on price and financial stability had served the region well, it had not brought down unemployment or achieved inclusive growth for the region.
She urged central banks to find a way of working together and solve the continent’s challenges, adding that development role must be part of the agenda of the central banks on the continent.
Alade also called for programmes that would improve access to finance and promotion of financial inclusion targeted at economic interventions.
“We need to access the need for payment systems inclusiveness for financial stability and transformative development in Africa.
“Realistic economic transformation and industrial development would entail greater participation of the private sector in the process of development,” he said.
Executive Secretary, Economic Communities of Africa, Mr Carlos Lopes, said Africa collectively needed to create over five million jobs per year for its growing young population.
Lopes said employment would help to reap the potential demographic dividends and transform the continent’s economies into a vibrant industrial giant.
He said that the robust and impressive growth rates achieved in the last decade and the current structure and drivers of growth in Africa did not provide a basis for rapid job growth.
The executive secretary said the structure of the economies of most African states in recent times showed that the services sector had a higher share of GDP relative to agriculture.
He noted that the manufacturing sector had continued to decline while the services sector had failed to generate the required number of decent jobs.
“As a result, a large part of the continent remains trapped in economic poverty, facing high levels of unemployment, inequality, precarious jobs and a large informal sector,” he said
Lopes also said that these trends had led to the recognition among Africans that structural transformation of the continent’s economy was a must.
“And that structural transformation must be underpinned by industrial development,’’ he said.
Lopes added that African countries needed to mobilise sufficient resources to finance public investments crucial for industrial development through investments in infrastructure, education and technology.
Commenting on how African central banks could impact  industrialisation, Lopes urged the banks to pay attention to both urban formal financial markets and the rural/micro financial markets.
He said the attention would enhance financial intermediation and help address disparities of rural urban incomes and development.
“The experiences of China show that exchange rate management can be used to influence competitiveness of goods and services on international markets.
“In this context, managing exchange rate volatility, including those arising from commodity price increases and portfolio investments, is an issue of importance for central banks.
“Strengthening financial intermediation for domestic resource mobilisation is another way for central banks to support the much needed finances for industrialisation,” he said.
He urged the banks to monitor the proliferation of informal financial institutions or “shadow banks” in many African countries and ensure productive use of the African reserve.
Also speaking, Dr Anothy Maruping, urged Africa central bank to ensure effective collaboration with the fiscal authorities to drive inclusive growth.
Maruping represented the African Union Chairperson, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma at the meeting.