Central banks from the EAC member states have stressed the need for capacity building in the area of economic forecasting and modelling in a bid to prepare for the region’s planned monetary union.

The five institutions made this call during a two day ad hoc Expert Group Meeting on "Capacity Building in Economic Modelling for EAC’s Central Banks” which took place in Kigali from March 13 to 14. 

The meeting was sponsored by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s Sub-Regional Office Eastern Africa (SRO-EA).

"They are key instruments in monetary policy formulation as well as a way to provide a Central Bank with clear and efficient ways of assessing trends and developments in domestic and external economies,” said Ambassador Claver Gatete, Deputy Governor of the BNR.

A statement from the UNECA says that regional Central Banks should first establish the economic modelling and forecasting units in their respective banks to aid the process of harmonisation.

The EAC wants to establish monetary union by 2012.
Antonio Pedro, SRO-EA Director said achieving the monetary union would neither be quick nor easy.

"It is a long and difficult process which will require patience, tact, expert knowledge and above all ownership and commitment of all key stakeholders involved,” he said.

The sub-regional office has a proposed training programme to benefit each of all the Central Banks in the region.

Ends