BY Business Editor
MBABANE- The Central Bank of Eswatini will host CMA Central Bank Governors from Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa from the 14th of November 2023 until the 17th.
This was disclosed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Eswatini Dr Phil Mnisi during the media session at Mugg and Bean.
Mnisi said the CMA was a regional integration body focusing on monetary issues. “Under the CMA, the smaller member states’ currencies are all pegged on a one-is-to-one with the South Africa Rand,” he added.
The Governor mentioned that the objective of these meetings was to promote economic growth and stability in the region by coordinating monetary policy and exchange rate policies.
He said the meetings provide an opportunity for Central Bank Governors to exchange views on recent economic developments in their respective countries and to discuss matters of mutual interest.
“The Central Bank Governors CMA meetings are an important platform for regional cooperation and collaboration in monetary policy. They help to ensure that the monetary policies of the member countries are aligned with each other and contribute to the overall economic development of the region,” he said.
Mnisi further mentioned that CBE will also a symposium which would be part of the November 2023 CMA Governors meetings.
He said there was therefore a need to have a regional discussion with stakeholders on such issues as they may have an impact on individual countries and the CMA region as a block, hence the choice of theme for the symposium.
The symposium will deliberate on global spillover issues with a view of knowledge-sharing and understanding these issues better to devise mechanisms or ways through which the region, individual member states, and other institutions can respond to avert the negative effects.
The keynote speaker for the symposium will be Mr. Lesetja Kganyago (Governor of the South African Reserve Bank) and the discussants will be Mr. Johannes! Gawaxab (Governor of the Bank of Namibia and Dr. Emmanuel Letete (Governor of the Central Bank of Lesotho).
Central Bank Digital Currency project approaching pilot phase
MBABANE- Governor of the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) Dr Phil Mnisi yesterday disclosed that the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pproject was approaching the pilot phase.
Mnisi said a diagnostic study was conducted in 2020 which investigated the Potential for a CBDC and the possible use cases for the Implementation of a CBDC in Eswatini, such as payment system Efficiency and functionality.
He said CBE has partnered with Financial Services Providers (FSPs) and Mobile Money Service Providers (MMSPs) on the pilot to test Potential use cases under a controlled environment.
The pilot aims to assess the technological feasibility of the Digital Lilangeni, gain user feedback, and identify opportunities for Improving usability and future adoption of the potential Digital Lilangeni.
“The Bank is yet to make a definitive decision on whether it will issue A Digital Lilangeni in the future or not, following the pilot closure,” mentioned the Governor.
