NIGER FM: CURRENCY 1ST TOOL OF SOVEREIGNTY

On 3 April, Nigerien Minister of Foreign Affairs Bakary Yaou Sangaré sat down in Moscow with RT France journalist Daria Vaganova to discuss the present and future of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES). Among the questions raised was that of financial and monetary sovereignty.

The AES—comprised of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger—and 11 West and Central African countries use a currency called the CFA franc. It is printed in France and anchored to the Euro at a fixed exchange rate determined by France. Countries that use the Central African CFA franc must deposit 50 per cent of their national reserves in the French treasury, where they receive very low, and sometimes even negative, returns. All financial decisions regarding these reserves must thus pass through and obtain the approval of the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance. The currency was also historically overvalued, so the countries using it would purchase cheaper goods produced in France while simultaneously finding it more challenging to trade with other countries apart from France.

This interview was not the first time an official suggested that the AES would stop using the CFA franc. On 31 January 2024, Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré stated, ‘Changes may yet surprise you. And, it's not just about the currency. We're going to break all the bonds that keep us in slavery.’ On 11 February 2025, Nigerien President Abdourahamane Tiani stated on local television that, ‘[a sovereign] currency is a step toward the end of colonisation.’ In that interview, he clarified that the AES’ financial experts are working on developing an independent monetary system.

Sources

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1z6HsLJ8mmAlObEosu96-yaCqBKdXuqXg/view?usp=sharing (pages 10,17, 28)

https://jacobin.com/2021/03/africa-colonies-france-cfa-franc-currency

https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/afrique/niger/le-niger-evoque-une-possible-monnaie-commune-avec-le-burkina-faso-et-le-mali-pour-sortir-de-la-colonisation_6360895.html

https://www.agenceecofin.com/actualites/0102-115775-le-burkina-faso-pourrait-s-attaquer-au-franc-cfa-et-quitter-l-uemoa-ibrahim-traore

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-the-france-backed-african-cfa-franc-works-as-an-enabler-and-barrier-to-development/#:~:text=Each%20central%20bank%20must%20maintain%20at%20least,that%20country%27s%20revenue%20from%20the%20previous%20year.

https://billmitchell.org/blog/?p=44027

https://mronline.org/2023/11/15/cfa-franc-system-in-francophone-africa-a-tool-of-french-financial-imperialism

https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/202323/1/1671513134.pdf