27 October 2017•Update: 27 October 2017
CONAKRY, Guinea
African Union Chairperson Alpha Conde has called on the Togolese government and opposition parties to find a "peaceful" way out of the crisis that has claimed many victims over the past two months.
Conde, who is also the president of Guinea, made the comments in Conakry after a meeting with his Ivorian counterpart Alassane Ouattara late Thursday.
“We have reviewed a series of questions, notably on the single currency. It's a goal we have together. We also exchanged views on the situation in Togo. It is extremely important that things evolve peacefully in the country and there should be a solution that would allow the Togolese people to continue moving forward, " Conde told the press.
The West African nation has seen two months of protests against President Faure Gnassingbe’s rule. He has been president since 2005, when he succeeded his father, who had been in power since 1968, making it the longest dynasty in Africa.
At least 15 people have been killed since when hundreds of thousands began taking to the streets.
"We trust President Conde on the situation in Togo,'' Ouattara said.
The two presidents also spoke about an African Union summit to be held on Nov. 29-30 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
"This summit will be a success," Conde added.
Single West African currency
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) trade bloc intends to make a single currency by 2020, said Conde, adding, “There has already been a meeting in Niamey to arrive at the creation of a single currency."
ECOWAS head of states met in Niamey, Niger’s capital on Tuesday to discuss the issue of a new single currency in West Africa to replace the CFA (African Financial Community) franc.
The idea of a single currency emerged in the early 2000s. The 15 countries of West Africa then agreed on a two-step project for creating a single currency.
In step one, countries with their own currencies (Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone) were to launch a single currency called the eco, then in a second step, countries that use the CFA franc would be added, so that in 2020, all ECOWAS member countries would use a single currency.
Reporting by Boussouriou by Felix Nkambeh Tih
