The East Africa Community (EAC) has dismissed social media reports on the unveiling of a common currency for the region.
In a statement on Monday, the EAC secretariat clarified that it was yet to launch a new currency.
“The EAC Secretariat wishes to inform all our stakeholders that the Partner States’ journey to a single currency is still a work in progress. Kindly ignore any rumors circulating in social media on the unveiling of new banknotes for the region,” said EAC.
The clarification comes after a fake account on X named Government of East Africa shared a universal currency dubbed the Shilling of East Africa and Franc (SHEAFRA).
“The East African Sheafra of SHF.5 Currency Note of fuv5 has finally Landed,” the fake account announced.
The fake handle also claimed that the currency, called the East African Sheafra (SHF1) will be equivalent to Ksh760.
“The East African Sheafra (SHF1 Sheafra) is valued at 0.76 cents on the Dollar, almost a Dollar; Tsh2800 (Tanzania Shillings), Ksh760 (Kenya Shillings), RFr.1,230 (Rwanda Franc), USh3,400 (Uganda Shillings), BF.3,103 (Burundi Franc),” claimed the account.
After the announcement some skeptics questioned the Sheafra’s value, claiming that its performance against other currencies was misaligned.
Other netizens questioned its legitimacy and even the criteria behind choosing the currency’s name.
The purported ‘government of East Africa’ then went on an unending roll of posting the note with various captions, each eliciting diverse reactions.
Meanwhile, EAC member states have been harmonizing critical policies and putting in place the requisite institutions to attain a single currency for the region by 2024 as outlined in the EAC Monetary Union Protocol.
The EAC common currency is expected to reduce transaction costs, economies of international reserves, the elimination of exchange rate risk, and region-wide price harmonization.
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