The Governor of the Central Bank of West African States (Bceao) is reappointed at the head of the institution for a six-year contract. The information is made public by our colleagues from Jeune Afrique.

According to the magazine, a letter would have been sent to Mr. Tiémoko Meyliet Koné in this sense to notify him of this decision which magnifies a mark of “total satisfaction” for a job well done.

Sources close to the BCEAO questioned did not deny this information.

Other informed observers approached describe this renewal as a “wise decision” given the “largely positive” results of the Governor of the BCEAO.

In their opinion, the current Governor is carrying out his mission, in particular the application of the decisions taken by the Monetary Policy Committee and the Board of Directors.

In addition to this, they believe that in the face of macroeconomic stability and the community context dictated by a COVID pandemic with enormous consequences, it is more prudent to proceed with continuity. As the saying goes, “you don't change a winning team”.

It is in this sense that they hailed the foresight of Mr. Koné through the measures taken by the Central Bank of West African States (Bceao), on March 21, 2020 with a set of measures to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the banking system and the financing of economic activity in the Union.

This is in close coordination with the urgent and coordinated measures taken by the highest authorities in the community space to deal with the current health crisis.

Moreover, the last WAEMU Council of Ministers welcomed the measures already implemented by the Central Bank to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the banking system and the financing of the economy.

In addition to these measures, and to preserve the financing of the Union's economies as well as the soundness of credit institutions and the financial stability of the zone, the Council decided to extend by one year the period for the implementation of transitional provisions of the prudential system applicable to credit institutions and financial companies of the West African Monetary Union.

To the credit of Governor Koné's team, we can add the initiatives taken for financial education, the promotion of Islamic Finance, FinTech in WAEMU, in particular with strategies and a framework that promote financial innovation. and healthy competition among ecosystem players.

It should be recalled that the BCEAO has undertaken large-scale actions to meet these challenges, in particular through the platform project for the interoperability of digital financial services which, initially, will allow electronic money institutions and, eventually, FinTechs to connect to the same payment system as traditional credit institutions.

Not to mention the reforms carried out and linked to the management of the institution, to the design and implementation of the monetary policy of the Member States.

Under the Tiémoko Meyliet Koné era, the BCEAO had a less austere face and the institution is opening up more and more to the outside world. The press will not say otherwise.