Kenyan president urges Pan-African payment system

Kenyan president William Ruto has called upon his African counterparts to move away from use of the US dollar in local payments. He made the remarks on Monday in Nairobi, while addressing the African Private Sector Dialogue on the African Continental Free Trade Area.

“We are all struggling to make payments for goods and services from one country to another because of differences in currencies. And in the middle of all these, we are all subjected to a dollar environment,” Ruto said. 

The president urged his counterparts on the continent to mobilize central and commercial banks to join the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS). Launched in January 2022, it is a centralized payment and settlement network for intra-African trade in goods and services.

Dr. Tumi BB Senokoane, a professor at the University of South Africa, told RT that forming one currency for all of Africa is “not an impossible task.”

“The idea behind the de-dollarization of the currency… stems from the background that Africa wants to rely [on its] own currency in purchasing, exchanging of goods and also in creating reserves for Africa as a continent. The idea [is] to find one common currency for Africa in that regard, that will be used by the central banks in Africa,” Senokane said.

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