The East African Community on Monday, March 4, clarified that the community was yet to launch the common 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," EAC stated adding that there was no immediate plan to roll out new banknotes in the region.
On Sunday, March 3, a verified X account under the handle East African Government shared pictures of new bank notes purportedly launched by the East African Community (EAC).
“The East African Sheafra of SHF.5 Currency Note of fuv5 has finally landed,” read the post, an account which the EAC has now dismissed to be false.
According to the EAC, while common currency remains a dream for the community, there were still pending logistics to be handled before rollout.
EAC while refuting reports of the launch, did not denounce the organisation which issued the communication in the first place.
The launch of a common currency has been postponed three times to date since the first proposal by EAC member states.
Initially, the launch of the common currency had been slated for 2024 but later postponed to 2027.
This followed a January 2023 meeting that was attended by delegates from EAC nations that was held in Kenya.
In March 2023, Central Bank Governors drawn from the member states further postponed the launch to 2021.
The governors had met in Burundi where they discussed systems to be put in place for the launch of the common currency.
If adopted, the currency will be used by Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
