Central bank governors from East African Community (EAC), including its newest member Somalia, are meeting in the capital Juba, South Sudan, for the 27th Ordinary Meeting of the Monetary Affairs Committee (MAC).

The EAC Monetary Affairs Committee (MAC) is a committee dedicated to establishing a monetary union for the member states.

Discussions are expected to revolve around ways to fast-track the process to harmonize policies aimed at facilitating the region to establish a single currency in the region.

East African Community partner states are in the process of harmonising critical policies and putting in place the requisite institutions to attain a single currency as outlined in the EAC Monetary Union Protocol.

The EAC Monetary Union Protocol, signed in 2013, aims to converge the currencies of the partner states into a single currency.

The EAC has made good progress on many fronts but has struggled to achieve a single currency.

The convergence of the currencies of all EAC partner states - Somalia, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania - into a single currency was to take 10 years, which means the regional bloc was to have a common currency by 2024.

In the run-up to achieving a single currency, the member countries must harmonise their monetary and fiscal policies, as well as their financial, payment, and settlement systems.

The harmonisation process would also involve merging financial accounting and reporting practices, policies, and standards for statistical information.

Full attainment of the single currency will see the establishment of the East African Central Bank, which will be preceded by the East African Monetary Institute (EAMI).