UNITED NATIONS

1' _

UNITED NATIONS

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

ECONOMIC COfvWHSSION FOR AFRICA Association of Af'r-Lcan Central Banks

Distr.

LIMITED

E/CN.14/AMA/26/Rev.2 21 November 1975 ENGLISH

Original: FRENCH

-

ARTICLES

OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN CENTRAL BANKS

V

The Signatories to these Articles,

Recognizin~the significant role to be ?layed by monetary, brolciug and

financial institutions in !,Jromotine the economic development, of· the AfriccG1

region and ill f oster i.ng financial st-ability;

~~g

that co-operation is necessary among African countries in monetary and financial matters;

Realizing that cc--ooer-ati on among central. banks in Mrica is a meane of

assuring continuous and effective co-ordination of monetar-y and financial policies among the member-.countl-'ies;

Follo"(:·Tinn the recommendations of the First IVlceting of Governors of.

Af'r-Lcan Central Banlcs'J whi.ch ->fa::i he Ld in Addis Ababa from 15 to 22 February 1966, - to establish an Association of African Central Banks consisting of central banks

and, uher-e central banks are

non-existent,

similar monetary instituTIons, the object

of Hbich Association Hould be to nrolUote co-operation in the monetary,

banki.ng and ^f i.nancⁱ a L spheres in the African region and to ^assns

t

in the formulation of guidelines along tch.ich future agr-eemerrts bet'sreen African countries C2.J.'1. proceed in these areas~

II ~~ted at the second Conference of

Governors of African Central Banlcs, Accra, 7-13 August

1962,

(E/CN, 14/APiIA/16) and amended at the inaugural meeting of the A.ssociation of African Central. Benks , Addis Ababa, 15- ·lC December 1969

(E/CN,14/AMA/2S), the second regular meeting of the Association, Rabat, 13-17 Seotember 1971

(E/CNo14/536)

_~~d the fourth regular meeting of the Association, Kinshasa, 13-21 August 1975 (E/CN.14/MIAnO),

/1175-2403

---_.~

E/CN.14/Afu~/26/Rev.2 Page 2

Have agreed as folIous:

ARTICLE 1

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ASSCCIATION

The Association of African Central Banks (hereinafter called the

IIAssociation") is hereby established and shall operate and be

governed according

to the follouing ,?rovisions.

ARTICLE 2 PURPOSES The purposes of the Association sha'l I be:

1. To pz-omot e co-operation in the monetary, banking and financial spheres in the African _r~gion;

2. To assist in the formulation of guidelines along Nhich agreements ali-long Mrican countries in the monetary and financial fields shall pr-oceed ;

3.

To he Lp strengthen all efforts aimed at bringing about and main.taining monetary and financial stabili~yin the African region;

4.

^To exa~ine-the effectiveness of international economic and finmtcial insti t:ution,q in ~'lhich Af'r-Lc an countr-Les .lraveⁱan interest, and

suggest Hays of pos s LbLe Lmpr-ovement ,

ARTICLE

3

FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

1. For the imDleIl1entation of .its -0ur"Y)OSGS the Associatinn shall have the fo Lkowi.ng f'unct i.onee

(a) To ~rovide for periodic meetings of GO~ernors ~f African central

banl.s , and, Hhere cent r-a L'banks ave non-existent, the heads of similar 'monetar-y institutions 'in the region;

(b) To ?romote the exchange of ideas and experience on mon~tary and banking matters and questions of monetary, banking and financial co-operation in fWrica;

(c) To facilitate the collectio~, pooling and dissemination of information on monetary, bank i.ng , financial and other economic matters of

interest to its members;

(d) To underta1:e the study of .nonetar-y and financial problems in t l.e African region, and all such matters as may be deemed necessary to the maintenance 'of financial-stability or generally conducive to greater co-o?eration ~nong itD members;

11 _

E!CN.14!A'-ffi!z6!Rev.Z

Page

• ^(e) To organize s emi.nar-s , courses and other training ':Jrogrammes for

l}erso,nnel of banlt i.ng and. financial institutions in the African r-egi.onj.

(f)

To :::n-'ovide technical advi ce and assistance 1"111ich serve its pr-upoaes

"and comel'lithin i t:s f'unct ions ;

(g) To estab Li.sh st,udy groups and/or institutions and Subregional

Committees and 'auch other subs Idfar-y bodies as it deems apor-opr-Lat e for. f aci Li.t a't Lng the carrying out of its functions and the fulfilment of its purposes

(h) To undertake. such other ac t.ivi

t

i cc and concer-n itself with such other matters as may advance: it.s pur,?oseso

2. . In car-r-yi.ng out its functions,

t

he Association shall .seelc to establish and maintain appr-opr-Lat e relations I'd th international or-ganiz at Lons pursuing similar or related ourposes ,

ARTICLE. 4

~m~IDE.RSHIP

AND GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

1. Membershi~)"of the Association and its Subr-eg.i.ona.I Committees shall be open to all centralbanl:s in inde,endent African countries and, Nhere central _bacl~s are non-existent, similar monetary institutions in the individual countries in the Mrican r-eg.i on,

Y

2. Tb.e African region;" for the'Dllr;:>oses of these Articles, shall mean the uho Le

continent of Africa,

Maclagascar~ Mauritius and other African islands~

'01"

as may be determined by the Assembly of Governors from time

to

tiille.

3.

Subregions

for

the -aur-poses of" the Ascociat Lon ·shall be as defined by the Economic Comrniasion for Afr i.c a , or" 'as may be determined by the Assembly of Governors from time to time.,

4.

Membership in the As soc i.at.ion s~a,ll be acquired in accordance wi,th the nr-ovf.sions of article

9,

r-arag,ra1_Jhs 1 and 2.

Y

At the inaugural meeti.ng of the Association of Central Banl.s , held in Addis Ababa from 15 to 1:;. Dec ember- 1969, the

»ar-t

i.c i.nant s adorted the follm....ing terms for the accession of eligible institutions.to the Association in accordance Hith i tIS Articles: "Membershi1) of the Asaoci at Lon and its Subr-eg.iona L Comnu,ttees shall be onen to any of the institutions mentioned in Article 1+.1 0:_" the Articles of Association uh i.ch shall have addressed to the Chaf.r-mz,n of the Association a letter expressing its "Hish to become a member and. its acceptance of the Ar-ti.cLes of Assoc

t

Lon , The Cha'i rman shall f'or-t ..rar-d the 2.?:11ication of member- shi'P'to all the members of the

Associatiol1, 11110

shall communicate their

decision thereon to h Lm , Admission to meuber-shi,n sha.Ll. become inunediately 'effective after an affirmative vote by the majority of tile existing members of

t

he Association has been

received

by the Cha

i.rman.;"

1'---

E/CNo14/A~~/26/Rev.2

Page 4

ARTICLE S

STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION

l-

and

The Association shall have

Subregional Committees ..

ill1 Assembly of Governors, an Executive Committee 2. The Assembly of Governors shall be the governing body of the Association

and shall consist of the Governors or Presidents' of central banks or

heads of similar monetary institutions whi ch are members of the Association.

3.

The AssembLy of Governors shall elect from among its members the Chairman and Vice-Cha~rmanof the Association, who shall hold office for a .per-iod of

tHO years, provided however that uhen any such elected person ceases .to hold

office in his Central Bank, his successor shall oe deemed to be Chairman or

Vice-Chairman of the Association.

4. The Chairman of the Association shall ;:>reside over meetings of the Assembly

of Governors and the Executive Committee. He shall also have powers to

convene meetings of the Assembly and the Executive Committee of the Association.

In the absence of the Chairman the Vice-Chairman shall carry out pis _functip~~.

5. The Chairman shall represent the Association in its relations with Governments

and other organizations.

6. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Association and 'the Cha.i.rmen :of Subregional Committees.

7.

Each Subregional Committee shall consist of the Governors, presidents

or heaqs of member institutions in the subregion as defined in Ar:ticle 4,

par-agr-aph

3.

Each SUbregional Commi,ttee shall elect a Chairman from among its members, ill accordance with conditions i t may lay down;

S.

The Assembly of Governors may :)rovide for a permanent secretariat,. I f i t is decided to call upon other institutions to provide secr~tariat services to the Assoc La.t i.on^j the As sembly shall authorize. the Chairman of the Association to make the necessary arrangements,.

9.

The expenses involved Ln running the Secretariat and other bodies of the Association shall be shared according to an agreed f or-muLa,

10. The Governors or Presidents of central banks or heads of similar monetary

institutions that are members of the Association snaI l be entitled to be

represented at the highest possible level by duly accredited delegates at any meeting of the organs of the As soc Lati on ,

y

ARTICLES MEETINGS

1. The Assembly of Governors shall meet a

t

least once every tHO y_{e a 17}s o

Such mee'tings shall be known as "regular meetings of the As soci at Lcn of Mrican Central Banks '",

3/ The Assembly decided that, for t-he -nn-po.se s of article 5, par agr-anh 10,

accredited delegates at the highest possible level shall be persons holding or

actirig in an off i.ce not be Lou the r-ank of De-nrty Governor, Deputy or Vice-President, Director General, Deput-y Director General, General hlanager or an office of .comparable rank VIilo have full pouer-s to ccmmit their r-espccti ve institutions in accordance Hi th the laNs governing the activities of the institutions concerned_o

IJ _

E/CN.14/A~~/2G/Rev.2 . Page

5

,'2. The Subregional Commit

t

ces sha.ll meet at least once a year, Such meetings aha.l L be :;:nOHl1 as "regular meetings of t~le Association^fs Subregional

CommitteesllQ

3. Ext'r-aor-d.i.nar-y meeting::; of the As aeubl.y of Governors or the Subregional Committeea ^s.ia'y be caI Lcd at any time by the Cha.i r-uan of the Association

or

t>y

the Chairman of the Subregional ComDittee concerned, either on their

own initiati ve or at the r-eouee't of a majority of mernber-s , L~ either case, sufficient consul-cations should ta::e :JlaceaJ.1.q a reasonable period: :of notice should be giver.u

4. The r-epor-t; on any Subregional Gemini ttee meetLng shall be pr-eserrted to the next regular' meeting of the Assembly of Governors f o LLoiri.ng the Subregional Committee

meeting"

5. The cuor-um of any organ of the Association cb a l.L be a si.mpl,e maj or-Lty of its membershi;J1Ol

£.

The deci s i.ono of the Assembly of Governors or of any organ ther-eof shall, as a rule, be t alcen by consensus of op i.nion of tl.le Governorspre:sent, provided that in matters concerning the rwming of the Association clecicions may be taken by

a

tHo-thirds majority of

the

Governors present

except as

provided for

in

article

5,

par-agr-aph

9

and in »ar-agr-aphs

9

and 10 of this article.

7. . At e ach regular meeting of the Association thE?

t

Lmo, venue and scnvac Lng ar-r-angemonts for the next meeting'shall be deter-ni.ncd , Similarly, at each regular mee

t

ing of a aubr-eg.i oria L Committee, the Committee shall de t'er-nu.ne the time, venue and servicing arrangements for the next meeting.

G. The AS8cubly of Governors, the Execu.tive Comm.i ttee and tl'.e Subregional Conuui,ttees may adop-t such rules and r-egu La't Lons au may be necessary or

appr-onr-Lat-e "Co conduct the business of

-t

ho Association, pr-ov Lded that such rules and regulations adont ed by the Executive Ccmr.cit-t-oe and the Subregional

Committees shall not be inconsistent Hith the rules adopted by the Assembly

of Governors ..

9. The exocnaes involved Ln organizing meetings of t~·18 Subregional Conmlittees or aubsi.di ar....y bodies thereto shall be shared according, to a formu La agreed

upon

by

the member?

cOilcernedG

ARTICLE 7

THE

COIlI,,;oN FUND OF

THE ASSCCIATION

1. NotHithstanGing the pr-ov-is.i.onu of article 5, p ar agr-apu 9, the Association

shall

establi.sh a Common FUnd ^Iinto uh.i ch annual contributions f'r-om its members

shall be

paid.

2. The Assembly of Governors shall determil-iethe amourrt of the ',~i1nual

contribut.ion by consensus. T;.le amount; .shall be subj ect to revision.

Y

Q

^{The nr-eserrt annual} contribution is ~'~US ^{1,000 for} each menber-,

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E/CN.14/Afu~/26/Rev.2

Page 6

3.

last

TI1C contribution for each year

quarter of the preceding year.

sha.l L be pa.i,d at the latest during the

4. ^(a)

The Conunon Fund shall be charged trit h the expenditure involved in:

(ii)

(iii)

The organization of meetings of tl18 Association, the Execut.Lve . Committee and any o ther- body of the Association other than the Subregional Comnrit tee.s ;

"The ho Ld i.ng "of training courses and aera.Lnar-s ; and

The imj!lementation of such activities as may be determined by the As aemb Ly of Governors1 provided that iii no case shall the Common Fund be charged Hi bb the travel expens es and subsistence allot,rances of the member-s of the Association.

(0) I f the financial resources of tb'2 Common Fund in any financial year are insufficient to meet a~y of the expenclitureset out in subparagraph (a) -of this nar-agr-aoh , the members of the Association shall pfty into the Common Fund such amounts in equal shares as are sufficient, to meet such exnend.i. tut"e.

5.

The accounts of the Common Fund shall be ke'}t by the central bank of l'-rhich the current Chairman, of the Association is the Governor. He shall act as treasurer of and adnri.rri ster- the Corm-non Fund. He shall submit a statement of account- and' t.r-ansac

t

Ions Ln

the_

'COl~mIOI1 Fund

a.t

mee'ti.ngc of the Ascoci at fon , C. The external auditors of the accounts of the central bank of the current Cha.i.rman of the Assoc i.a't i.on shaLl, be responsible for audi

t

Lng the accounts of the Common Fund and for submitting a r-enor-t thereon to the meetings of the Association.

ARTICLE Ai"iENDMENTS

These Articles may be amended or added to at a meeting of the Association-·

by a majority of tHO thirds of the menber-s of the Association, pr-ovi.ded that' notice of SUC;1 amendment is given to members at least three months before the meeting e:f vrhi.ch the amendment is to be ::mto Governors who arc not pr-ecerrt at this meeting may signify their votes in r-rritine or by proxy.

ARTICLE 9

SIGNATURE AND DEPOSIT

1. These Articles, deooci.ted Hith the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic -Comiilis~ion^{for Africa} (h~rei>:1aftercalled the Denosi-t ar-y ] shall remain open ,until

31

December

19G,S

for signature

by

the Institutions listed in Annex I •

.2. The Deposi,

t

ar-y shall communicate certified cooi.cs of these Articles"

to all the Signatories ..

-

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E/CN.14/A~~/26/Rev.2 Page

7

ARTICLE 10

ACCEPTANCE, ACQUISITION I,ND lJITHDRAliAL OF i'IENBERSHIP

•

1. These Articles shall be subject to acceptance by members, Nho shall signify their acceptance

by

siening the original co~y of these Articles deposited Hith the Depost

t

ar-y or by depositing instruments of acc ep't ance Hith the DeposLt ar-y before ]1 December 1960. The Denos I

t

ar-y shall notify each si!$nature or clepos i.r and the date thereof to the other s i.gnat'or-Les , 2.

Insti

tut i.ons nhich do not acquire membership in accordance ~,rith the provisions of par-agr-aph 1 of this Article may become members after the Articles have entered into force by accession thereto on such terms as the Assembly of Governors shall determine.

3. Any member may Hi t-hdr-au from the Association pr-ov i.cled i t makes known its decision to tl.".le Cha.i.r-r.ian of the Association and the Deposi,tar-y,

ARTICLE 11 ENTRY INTO FORCE

Theee Articles shall enter into force upon the aoo errtanc e by fourteen of the institutions listed in Annex I. The Depositary shall notify all the signatories to the Articles of the date on ';'lhich they come into force.

;J

ARTICLE 12

FIRST MEETING OF THE ASSCCIATION The Association

meeting shall be

shall ho Ld its first meeting convened by the Depo s Ltary.

before 31 December 1969.

2. i\,lleasures shall be tal:en at this meeting Hi tl: r-egard to the organization

~~d establis~nen~ of the different organs of the Ansociation.

DONE IN ACCRA, GHANA, THIS 13TH DAY OF AUGUST 1968 in a single

copy in the English and Fr811ch languages, both of uh.i.ch are equally valid.

V

Tile Articles of Association of the Association of African (:entral BIDL~S entered into force on 17 December 1968 after having been signed or acce-rted b? the z-eou i.r-ecl nrLnLnun.t of institutions ..

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IlllllMlliililt, _

E/CN.14/A~~/26/Rev.2 Annex I

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

•

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6, 7.

3.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

~,~~ue Ce~tr~d'Algerie

Banc~:-de-l~_Republique

de Burundi Banque

Nation~!e

du Congo (Zaire)

B~~que^{_ _ _e-...,~}

Centeale des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest

^{..._ _~;_ _}

Bang~.£~n~raledes Etats de l' Afrique Eguatoriale et dll Camermm F,""c "

Bank of Ethiopia

Central Bank of The Gambia Bank of Ghana

Banqu,,:_Centrale de la Republique de Guinee

Central Bank of Kenya

Treasury of the Cover-nmerrr of Liberia Bank of Libya

Institut dlEmission Malgache Reserve Bank of MalaHi

Banqu~entrale

de 1a Republique du Mali

Bank of Mauritius

Banque du Maroc

Central

B~~k

of Nigeria Central Bank of Egypt Banquo Nationale du RNanda

Bank of Sierra Leone

Scmal.i, N2~tional Bank Bank of Sud an

Bank 0f Tanzania

..Ba~~~~el'l~r~le ^de Tunisie Bank of Uganda

Bank of Zambia

. ^-

.'

E/CN.14/AN~/26/B~v.2 Annex I I

LIST or MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF AFRICAN CENTRAL BANKS AS OF 113 DECEMBER 1969 ",

Member banks Or institutions

Banque Centrale d'Algerie

Banque

~~a Re?ubliq~~

du Burundi

Banque nationa!~_~

Congo

^(Kinshasa)

Banaue Centrale des Etats de 1'Afrique

.<i~

... 1' OueE.! (BCEAO)

Banque~:trale_

des Etats de

I'

Afrique Eguatoriale et du Cameroun (BEEAEC)

Gambia Currency Board

Central Bank of Kenya Bank of Libya

Institut d'Emission

w~lgache

Reserve Bank of Ma.L awi,

~gue_Centrale

du Mali

Bank of Mauritius

Date of signature, acceptance of

the

Articl~s

of Association or accession to the Associaticin...

(at the inaugural meeting of the Association,qeld from 15 to 18 December 1.969)

(5 December 19(3)

(at the inaugural

_meet'i~g

of the

Association,h~ld

from 15 to 13

December 1969) ,

(7 October 19(3)

(6 November l,968)

(signed in Accra)

(14 November 19(3) (signed in Acera) (23 Deeember 1968)

(at the inaugural meeting of the Association, held from 15 to 113 December 1969)

(9 December 1963) (11 November 19613)

(at the inaugural meeting of the

Association .. held from 15 to 18 December 19(9)

(23 September 1968)

- - - , -

E/CN.14/Afu~/26/Rev.2 Annex I I

Page 2

Member banks or institutions Date of signature, acceptance of the Articles of Association or accession to the Association

',--

.

- j

..

Bangu" du Maroc

Central Bm1k of Nigeria

Bangue Centrale d'Egyvte Bangue Nationa1e du R"arlda Bank of Sierra Leone

Somali National Bank

(18 September 196G) (17 December 19(8)

(24

December 1968)

(23

Augu,,! ,.1963)

(18

December 1968)

(17

December 1963)

,

. .,.,,~.... • '<.

Bank of Sudan Bank of Tanzania

Banque Centrale de Tunisie Bank of Uganda

Ban" of Zambia

• (5 November 1968)_{, .... .' ..}-,-..... .-.'.'., ....

(31 December 1968) (19

De"?ITl.b~.r

^1968)·

(at the Lnaugur a.I meeting of the A ' t ' ' l d froln 1~ to 1uo

SSOCla lon, 118 ..J

December 1969)

(at the inaugural meeting of the Association,he1d from 15 to 18 December 1969)