Kenyan president backs Pan-African payment system

Lazy eyes listen

NewsRescue

Kenyan President William Ruto has urged his African peers to abandon the usage of the US currency in domestic payments. He made the statements while speaking at the African Private Sector Dialogue on the African Continental Free Trade Area on Monday in Nairobi.

“We are all struggling to pay for goods and services from one country to another due to currency differences.” And in the midst of it all, we’re all subjected to a dollar atmosphere,” Ruto explained.

The president asked his African counterparts to mobilize central and commercial banks to participate in the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS). The PAPSS is a centralized payment and settlement network for intra-African trade in goods and services that will be launched in January 2022.

Dr. Tumi BB Senokoane, a University of South Africa lecturer, told RT that creating a single currency for Africa is “not an impossible task.”

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