As part of moves to enhance monetary policy harmonization in the West African sub region, the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have begun a regional course on monetary policy for member countries.
The aim is to allow the West Africa bloc adopt best practices in the formulation of monetary policies to manage exchange rate fluctuations and price stability for macro-economic stabilization in respective countries.
Participants will be taken through how sound monetary policy framework and decisions transmit to the real economy in the medium to long term.
“In recent times, the overarching objective of monetary policy has been that of long-term price stability, a key feature that finds expression in the monetary policy frameworks of all major central banks, The policy instruments as well as the frameworks employed by various central banks to address the core objectives of monetary policy differ from country to country due to varying country-specific conditions and economic peculiarities as well as the degree of financial development integration”, said Director General of WAIFEM , Dr. Baba Musah at the opening of the program being hosted by Ghana in Accra on Monday, November 6, 2023.
“Because of the multi-dimensional challenges facing economies in our sub-region, monetary policy should focus on developing a mix of appropriate instruments to deliver price stability, exchange rate stability, financial stability and economic growth”, he added.
On his part, the Director of Research at the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Philip Abradu-Otoo who delivered the keynote address on behalf of the Governor charged member countries to strike a find balance between fiscal and monetary policies to respond to emerging global and domestic macro-economic situations.
“To maximize the objectives of monetary policy, it must be complemented with sound fiscal policy mix, even though in reality, policy effectiveness of most Central Banks is marred by the issue of fiscal dominance especially in most African countries. Permit me to remark that, this course could not have been taken at a better time than this when most economies in the sub-region are grappling with price stability.