How Common EAC Currency Will Benefit  Kenya

How Common EAC Currency Will Benefit Kenya

How Common EAC Currency Will Benefit Kenya

Economists have hailed the East Africa Community’s (EAC) adoption of a shared currency as the solution to Kenya’s economic woes. The legal tender will be referred to as SHEAFRA, which stands for Shilling of East Africa and Franc. It will be shortened to Shf.

Prior to this, at an EAC meeting in January 2023 held at Maanzoni Lodge in Machakos County, Central Bank Governors from EAC member nations had intended to introduce the common currency in 2024. However, they decided to push it back to 2027.

At a meeting in Burundi in March 2023, the Central Bank Governors of East Africa agreed to push out the implementation of a single currency until 2031. Prof. XN Iraki, an economist, stated that SHEAFRA will economically empower the region and that the implementation was long overdue. “You do not need to constantly exchange currencies if you travel around Europe and go from one nation to another. He clarified the necessity of expediting the procedure by saying, “There are always some losses.”

Prof. Iraki added that exchanging currencies takes time and money in addition to being expensive. The eight EAC members would be able to trade more easily and without having to worry about paying exchange rate fees if they used the same currency. “You have to convert to Kenyan Shilling if someone is using dollars, as you might imagine. This complicates and raises the cost of trading,” he said.

Furthermore, XN Iraki clarified that increased tourism in the area will result from a single currency. For example, visitors on a safari might easily enjoy both the Serengeti and Masai Mara National Parks without having to pay additional exchange fees because they share a common border.

Iraki issued a warning, stating that disputes amongst EAC members might cause the currency’s rollout to be delayed. “When there is a single currency, people get nationalistic and start arguing over trivial things like what symbols should be on the money,” he said.