AP is an acronym with which CEMAC heads of state have had time to become familiar in recent months. This acronym, which literally means Governance, assistance and performance, summarizes the vision of Yvon Sana Bangui, the new governor of the Bank of Central African States (Beac). But also its plans to improve the functioning of this financial institution. It is also his road map. It appears in his 34-page application file, submitted for analysis by the heads of state of the sub-region, who, on the basis of this document, validated the choice made for him by the Central African president, Faustin- Archangel Touadéra. “The GAP project is an ambitious project which will require a strong commitment from the BEAC, its development partners and the CEMAC authorities. It has the potential to transform the BEAC into a more efficient and effective institution, serving the economic and social development of CEMAC countries. “, recalls the governor in this matter.
Improving financial services
Beyond the speech, the new governor of the Beac has set numerous objectives during his mandate which will last 7 years. First, it aims to increase Cemac’s foreign exchange reserves by 30% in the operations account, in a context of fixed parity, in order to support the common currency, the FCFA. The Central African Republic also has the ambition to strengthen financial inclusion. According to the latter, this involves increasing the banking rate which he aims to increase from 7% to 20%. To achieve this, it intends to promote the diversity of financial institutions, facilitate the use of innovative technologies and the participation of non-traditional establishments focused on new technologies, and encourage the development of cheap and innovative financial products. Improving cash circulation is also a major concern for the governor.
In this segment, it is committed to permanently maintaining, in circulation, monetary signs of sufficient quality and quantity, in a context marked by a continuous increase in demand from economic agents. At the same time, his mandate will also be focused on strengthening the fight against counterfeiting. Technological innovation will also be a major concern during his seven-year term. For example, Yvon Sana intends to continue and certainly finalize the project to issue and put into circulation the electronic money of the central bank called e-Cfa. In the same vein, it intends to promote the development of banking financial technological innovations, financial technological solutions between banks and FinTech and finally, between incubators and FinTech companies. In addition, improving financial stability, developing relevant indicators for monitoring the financial sector in order to anticipate the consequences of a crisis, modernizing payment systems, maintaining operating expenses at a sustainable level, will also guide the action of Sana Bangui at the head of the BEAC
Good governance
By addressing this aspect, Yvon Sana Bangui first made an observation. According to him, the provisions of the Beac statutes confer too much power to the governor. “The decision of the Cemac authorities since 2010 to now allow rotation of the post of governor between member countries constitutes a major step forward towards greater autonomy for the Beac. However, the provisions of the statutes confer excessive power to the leaders of the institution in general, and to the governor in particular. This excess of power is both perceptible in the rather technical area of monetary policy management and in that of the day-to-day administration of the bank.» we can read in his program. According to the former central director of information systems at the Beac, such an organization is of a nature “to develop bureaucratic behavior within the Beac with the main corollary being the pursuit of personal motivations alongside the objectives of general interest which are assigned to the bank’s management team“. To remedy this, but above all to ensure the effectiveness of the decisions taken by the bank’s management team, Yvon Sana recommends the establishment of an obligation to report.
According to him, this could concretely result in the regular holding of appearances before a designated public authority to report on the conduct of monetary policy as well as the results obtained. “This responsibility will be fully expressed when the Beac directly reports on its activities to the Cemac parliament through special hearings or during press conferences, as the Beac governor did when it was necessary to deny the rumor about the devaluation of the CFA Franc“, he recommends.
For the record, it was on February 9, 2017 that Yvon Sana Bangui was officially appointed head of the Beac. According to a biography compiled by your biweekly, the graduate studied computer science and economics and public management in Morocco and France. He began his professional career as a data engineer for a telephone operator, teaching at the University of Bangui [capitale de la Rca], before joining the Central Bank in 2005 as a senior management agent. From promotion to promotion, he climbed the ranks until becoming Director of Information Systems at the Bank in 2017. This native of Lobaye, the southwest region of the country, currently aged 49, will celebrate his fiftieth birthday in May. next.
