The Central Bank of Kenya has published the communiqué from the 29th ordinary meeting of the East African Community Monetary Affairs Committee, which reviewed progress toward the East African Monetary Union and a single EAC currency by 2031. The committee said Partner States' central banks have advanced the revised roadmap through more aligned monetary policy frameworks, stronger data and risk management, greater policy coordination, wider use of the East African Payment System and central bank capacity building. However, progress toward the convergence criteria remains uneven, and no Partner State has attained all four primary criteria. The committee said the regional outlook remains comparatively strong despite higher oil prices, shipping costs and other global risks linked to conflict in the Middle East. It projected EAC growth at 5.2 percent in 2026, above the Sub-Saharan Africa average of 4.3 percent, while average headline inflation moderated to 6.7 percent in fiscal year 2025/26 from 9.6 percent in fiscal year 2024/25 and regional currencies are expected to remain broadly stable. To support macroeconomic stability and the monetary union roadmap, the committee called for greater resilience, diversification of international reserves through domestic gold purchases and remittance inflows, a peer review mechanism for regional macroeconomic surveillance and operational frameworks for the EAC Five-Year Development Strategy 2026/27 to 2030/31. It also noted that implementation of the EAC Cross-Border Payment System Masterplan has started, with work plans, prioritized initiatives and resource mobilization already underway, and agreed to strengthen regional cooperation on cybersecurity risks to financial stability.
Central Bank of Kenya2026-07-24
Central Bank of Kenya publishes East African Community monetary affairs communiqué, no Partner State meets all four primary convergence criteria
The Central Bank of Kenya published the communiqué from the 29th East African Community Monetary Affairs Committee meeting, which said central banks have made progress toward monetary union but no Partner State has met all four primary convergence criteria. The committee projected EAC growth of 5.2 percent in 2026, noted progress on the cross-border payments masterplan and called for stronger macroeconomic surveillance, reserve diversification and cybersecurity cooperation.