The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has convened a meeting of the Committee of Experts on the Harmonization of Monetary and Financial Statistics in Lomé, Togo. The gathering, which runs from November 2-7, 2026, seeks to advance the harmonization of methods for compiling and presenting monetary and financial statistics within the ECOWAS region. Officials and experts from central banks of ECOWAS member states, as well as representatives of the ECOWAS Commission and the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), are in attendance.
The meeting's opening ceremony featured remarks from several key officials, including the Director General of WAMA, Boima S. Kamara, who emphasized the importance of the workshop as a platform for experts to exchange experiences and identify practical solutions to improve the quality and harmonization of monetary and financial statistics. Kamara highlighted the strong collaboration between WAMA and the ECOWAS Commission as essential to deepening monetary integration in the region.
Speaking on behalf of ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Dehpue Yenpea Zuo, Samson Bel-Aube Nougbodohoué, Director of Research and Statistics at the ECOWAS Commission, stressed the strategic role of statistical data in implementing Community policies. He noted that harmonization of monetary and financial statistics is a prerequisite for the success of ECOWAS' monetary integration ambition, saying, "We cannot build a common monetary future on fragmented statistical systems."
The Co-Chair of the ECOWAS-WAMA Committee of Experts, Augustine Ngombu, Head of Monetary and Financial Statistics at the Central Bank of Sierra Leone, urged participants to rigorously review the draft regional metadata framework and formulate actionable recommendations. Ngombu emphasized the need for the proposed regional framework to address the realities faced by central banks and enable more harmonized statistical production.
The meeting will review and finalize the draft regional metadata framework developed by WAMA for compiling ECOWAS monetary and financial statistics. Experts will also examine metadata practices of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Bank of Ghana to identify constraints and define operational mechanisms. Discussions will focus on disaggregating non-resident institutional units and reviewing progress made in implementing the regional action plan adopted in January 2025.
The regional action plan calls for expanding statistical coverage to include other systemically important financial institutions, improving data on interest rates, and strengthening the breakdown of loans by economic sector. The plan also addresses the classification of loans by currency and interest rate, as well as collecting historical data on exchange rates for the region's currencies. Upon completion of the work, participants are expected to agree on a revised and validated regional metadata framework, accompanied by technical recommendations for its implementation.
The efforts of ECOWAS and WAMA aim to support the implementation of economic policies based on reliable and comparable data. By strengthening common statistical tools and cooperation among central banks and regional institutions, the meeting's outcomes are expected to improve the availability, comparability, and quality of statistics needed to analyze monetary and financial developments, monitor macroeconomic convergence, and deepen regional integration.
Key points
- The meeting aims to harmonize monetary and financial statistics for regional economic integration.
- The harmonization of statistics is crucial for the success of ECOWAS' monetary integration ambition.
- The meeting's outcomes are expected to improve the availability and quality of statistics for economic policy implementation.
