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The Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa, generally referred to by its French acronym CEMAC (for Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l'Afrique Centrale; ), is an organization of states of
Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...
established by
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
,
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
,
Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
, the
Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
,
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...
and
Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...
to promote
economic integration Economic integration is the unification of economic policies between different states, through the partial or full abolition of tariff and Non-tariff barriers to trade, non-tariff restrictions on trade. The trade-stimulation effects intended by ...
among countries that share a common currency, the
Central African CFA franc The Central African CFA franc ( French: ''franc CFA'' or simply ''franc''; ISO code: XAF; abbreviation: F.CFA) is the currency of six independent states in Central Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equator ...
. There is a strong overlap between CEMAC and
Economic Community of Central African States The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS; , CEEAC; , CEEAC; , CEEAC) is an Economic Community of the African Union for promotion of regional economic co-operation in Central Africa. It "aims to achieve collective autonomy, raise ...
(ECMAS) in the areas of membership and mandates. CEMAC's common institutions include its Council of Heads of State () and Council of Ministers; a Commission in
Bangui Bangui (; or Bangî in Sango language, Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in the Central African Republic, largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a Fren ...
, Court of Justice in
N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Chad, largest city of Chad. It is also a Provinces of Chad, special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements'', similar to the city of Paris. Originally calle ...
, and Parliament in
Malabo Malabo ( , ; formerly ) is the capital of Equatorial Guinea in the province of Bioko Norte. It is located on the north coast of the island of Bioko (, and as ''Fernando Pó'' by the Europeans). In 2018, the city had a population of approxim ...
; the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) in
Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...
; the Central African Banking Commission (COBAC) and Central African Financial Market Supervisory Commission (COSUMAF), both in
Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...
; and the
Development Bank of the Central African States The Development Bank of the Central African States, usually known for its French initials, BDEAC, is a multilateral development bank that is charged with financing the development of the member states of Economic and Monetary Community of Centra ...
(BDEAC) in
Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...
. CEMAC countries also share the Regional Insurance Control Commission (CRCA, in Libreville) with other African countries of the Franc Zone.


History


Background

In late 1945, newly liberated France decided to devalue its currency, the
French franc The franc (; , ; currency sign, sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amoun ...
, but to leave unchanged the monetary parity in its overseas colonies that had not been affected by similar economic distress. It thus established the
CFA franc CFA franc (, ) is the name of two currencies used by 210 million people (as of 2023) in fourteen African countries: the West African CFA franc (where "CFA" stands for , i.e. "African Financial Community" in English), used in eight West African c ...
(for ) for colonies in Africa, and the
CFP franc The CFP franc (French language, French: , called the ''franc'' in everyday use) is the currency used in the France, French overseas collectivity, overseas collectivities (, or COM) of French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna. The i ...
() for those in the Pacific Ocean, whereas Caribbean colonies retained use of the French franc and Indochina used a separate pegged currency, the
French Indochinese piastre The piastre de commerce ("trade piastre") was the currency of French Indochina between 1887 and 1954. It was first used in 1885. It was subdivided into 100 ''cents'', each of 2~6 '' sapèques''. The name '' piastre'' (), from Spanish pieces o ...
. In Central Africa, the CFA franc had been issued since its creation by the
Caisse Centrale de la France d'Outre-Mer Caisse, a French word, may refer to: * Caisse Desjardins, an association of credit unions in Quebec * Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears, a road-bicycle racing team *Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Q ...
(CCFOM) under an issuance privilege granted by French national legislation. In 1955, the CCFOM was replaced in that role by a new affiliate, the
Institut d'Émission de l'Afrique Équatoriale Française et du Cameroun An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...
, which in turn was renamed the Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique Équatoriale et du Cameroun (BCEAEC) in 1959.


UDEAC

In late 1964, the five newly independent countries (the four of the former
French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (, or AEF) was a federation of French colonial territories in Equatorial Africa which consisted of Gabon, French Congo, Ubangi-Shari, and Chad. It existed from 1910 to 1958 and its administration was based in Brazzav ...
, namely the CAR, Chad, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo, plus Cameroon) established the Customs and Economic Union of Central Africa, known as UDEAC (), by treaty signed in Brazzaville. The Brazzaville Treaty envisioned a
customs union A customs union is generally defined as a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff.GATTArticle 24 s. 8 (a) Customs unions are established through trade pacts where the participant countries set u ...
with
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
between members and a
common external tariff A common external tariff (CET) must be introduced when a group of countries forms a customs union. The same customs duties, import quotas, preferences or other non-tariff barriers to trade apply to all goods entering the area, regardless of which ...
for imports from other countries. It became effective in 1966 after it was ratified by the then five member countries.


Central African Monetary Area

In 1972, the framework was reformed with a treaty revision and new monetary cooperation agreement that resulted in the BCEAEC's renaming as BEAC and its relocation from Paris to Yaoundé. The transfer was completed in early 1977.
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...
joined the Union on 19 December 1983.


CEMAC Treaty (1994) and aftermath

In 1994, UDEAC signed the Treaty of N'Djamena for the establishment of CEMAC to promote the entire process of sub-regional integration through the forming of
monetary union A currency union (also known as monetary union) is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more states sharing the same currency. These states may not necessarily have any further integration (such as an economic and monetary union ...
with the Central Africa
CFA franc CFA franc (, ) is the name of two currencies used by 210 million people (as of 2023) in fourteen African countries: the West African CFA franc (where "CFA" stands for , i.e. "African Financial Community" in English), used in eight West African c ...
as a common currency. As a consequence CEMAC officially superseded UDEAC in June 1999, operating both a customs union and monetary union. In June 2008, the participating countries signed a new agreement on the Central African Monetary Union (). On December 16, 2024, the CEMAC heads of state were planning to convene an summit with an IMF delegation present, to discuss the possibility of devaluing the CFA Franc, so that financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) can restart.


Overview

CEMAC's objectives are the promotion of trade, the institution of a genuine common market, and greater solidarity among peoples and towards under-privileged countries and regions. In 1994, it succeeded in introducing quota restrictions and reductions in the range and amount of tariffs. Currently, CEMAC countries share a common financial, regulatory, and legal structure, and maintain a common external tariff on imports from non-CEMAC countries. In theory, tariffs have been eliminated on trade within CEMAC, but full implementation of this has been delayed. Movement of capital within CEMAC is free."National Trade Estimates Report – Cameroon" US Fed News, 31 March 2006 The CEMAC's financial stability was threatened by the fall in the price of petroleum starting in 2014, as all members except CAR depend heavily on oil revenue. International reserves dropped, and there was discussion of a devaluation of the CFA Franc. Ultimately, the conference of heads of state in 2016 adopted a detailed reform program, the PREF-CEMAC, to stabilize the situation.


Membership

* * * * * *


See also

* West African Economic and Monetary Union *
Eastern Caribbean Currency Union The Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) is one of the world's four regional currency unions. The union is a development of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, in which the member countries agree to share the same currency, the Eas ...
*
Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union The economic and monetary union (EMU) of the European Union is a group of policies aimed at converging the economies of member states of the European Union at three stages. There are three stages of the EMU, each of which consists of progressi ...
* CEMAC Cup


References


Sources

* {{cite web, first=Bruce , last = Byiers, title=ECCAS and CEMAC: Struggling to integrate in an intertwined region, website=ECDPM, date=2017-12-04, url=https://ecdpm.org/work/eccas-and-cemac-struggling-to-integrate-in-an-intertwined-region, ref=, access-date=2024-12-25 CEMAC Economic Community of Central African States