The governors of central banks of the members of the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS) are to meet in the Ghanaian capital Accra on Wednesday to deliberate on plans to establish a monetary union in the sub- region.

A statement issued on Tuesday by the Central Bank of Nigeria in Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, said the meeting would consider the reports and recommendations of the Technical Committee on the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ).

The committee has been meeting in Accra since last week fine- tuning reports of various working groups under the auspices of the West African Monetary Authority.

"The committee set targets which include those of payments system development, the introduction of the ECO and the sensitization program and strategies for the ratification of all WAMZ legal instruments in member states," said the statement.

The Authority of the Heads of States and Government in the WAMZ had, through the authority of the Banjul Declaration on May 6, 2005 postponed the take-off of the monetary union initially scheduled for December 1, 2005 to December 31, 2009.

The Heads of States also approved an expanded work program to facilitate the emergence of the monetary union.

The broader program now includes not only the macroeconomic criteria, but also the establishment of structures that can lead to the actualization of a single economic space.

Such structures include the creation of a Customs Union, development of a zonal payment and settlement system for cross- border transactions, statistical harmonization and database developments, among others.

Source: Xinhua