Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Dr Sidie Mohammed Tunis says to boost the economic growth of the subregion and reduce the dependence on foreign support, Member States must embark on reforms.

Tunis made the call at the closing ceremony of the first 2023 parliamentary seminar on Sequencing ECOWAS Monetary Cooperation Towards Single Currency held in Guinea Bissau.

Represented by the Fourth Deputy Speaker, Adja Satu Pinto, Tunis also stated the need for cooperation within the bloc for harmonization.

But achieving the ECOWAS Monetary Cooperation Programme however, means dealing with challenges such as the effects of the covid19 pandemic, drought, insecurity, food and fuel crisis, and the drop of international commodity prices such as oil which weigh heavily on member states’ macroeconomic performance.