The Togolese are mainly for an exit from the CFA franc
The franc of the French colonies in Africa, or CFA franc, was created by France in December 1945 and became during independence in 1960 the franc of the African Financial Community for the countries of the West African Monetary Union (UMOA) and the Central African Financial Cooperation franc for member countries of the Central African Monetary Union (UMAC) (BCEAO, 2018; Petteng, 2016).
Like a sea serpent, the debate on the maintenance of the CFA franc resurfaces periodically, either launched by a crisis (the devaluation of the CFA franc in 1994), or by activists and certain African intellectuals, and even certain leading politicians such as President Idriss Déby Itno of Chad, who calls for getting rid of the CFA franc (Dieng, 2015). But the particularity of the latest resurgence of this debate comes from the fact that it was launched by the Italian authorities, who are bearing the brunt of the horrors of the migration crisis. This made it possible for the first time to highlight this subject in Europe and almost caused a diplomatic crisis between France and Italy, as Italian government officials accused France of impoverishing French-speaking Africa, which would illegal immigration (Euronews, 2019; BBC, 2019; Licourt, 2019).
Those who openly attack this issue suffer the consequences. Thus, the former Togolese (Sylvanus Olympio), Ivorian (Laurent Gbagbo), and Libyan (Moammar Gadhafi) presidents reportedly paid the price, two being assassinated and the third finding himself before the International Criminal Court (Tété, 2017; Fofana, 2018; Attisso, 2017; Jocegaly, 2014). We can also recall the setbacks of the French activist of Beninese origin Kemi Seba, expelled from Senegal in September 2017, or those of the former Togolese minister Kako Nubukpo, who was dismissed from his post as director of La Francophonie Economique and Digital the same year (Ba, 2017; Jeune Afrique, 2017; De Filippis & Malagardis, 2017).
The results of the most recent Afrobarometer survey in Togo reveal that two out of three Togolese (66%) believe that the CFA franc benefits France more than member countries of the franc zone such as Togo and that it should be replaced. The wealthiest and most educated Togolese, city dwellers, and men are the most likely to opt out of the CFA franc. The more the Togolese perceive that the country is going in the wrong direction or that the current economic situation of the country or even that their own living conditions are bad, the more they are in favor of their country withdrawing from the CFA franc.
Image source: bceao.int
A majority (54%) even say they “completely” agree with this proposition. Conversely, less than one in four Togolese (23%) say that this currency is a development tool for a country like Togo and should be maintained. A majority of Togolese think that the CFA franc is more useful to France than to countries like Togo and for this, they advocate its abandonment. This choice is widely shared by all sections of the population and in particular the richest and most educated.
In view of the debates on the CFA franc which have been agitating the African public space for several years and the will of citizens to free themselves from this currency, it is more than important that the will of the States of West to move towards a common currency of ECOWAS materialize and allow people to close a part of their history.