The problems which are currently being experienced by some of the peripheral members of the Euro zone – Greece, Portugal and Spain for example – which have lost competitiveness on international markets and can no longer use exchange rate depreciation to restore their competitiveness, should provide a salutary lesson to everyone involved in planning for the introduction of the EAMU.
Without wishing to pre-empt any of the contributions from my colleagues in the EAC Secretariat, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and the Economic Policy Research Council which we will hear later on in this workshop, I would like to take a few minutes of your time to explain why I believe that monetary union in East Africa will make an important contribution to the long term development of our region, potentially helping to accelerate the transition of our economies to middle income status, and also to identify the critical prerequisites for the successful introduction of EAMU.