The West African capital market regulators have decided to establish a mutually acceptable basis for cooperation and consultations to foster market integration in the region.
This was disclosed by the Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mounir Gwarzo, while briefing journalists after the inaugural meeting of West Africa Securities Regulators Association (WASRA) and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the member countries Wednesday in Abuja.
Gwarzo said that the collaboration has become necessary given the important role capital markets play in the economies of the various countries.
His words: “For quite a while, we have been thinking of how the regulators can come together to form an association so that we can support the integration of the capital market within the West African Region. You are aware of the existence of West African Capital Markets Integration Council (WACMIC) whose aims and objectives are to see a means of bringing the capital markets within the West African region together.
“What we have not had is a close collaboration and close interface within the Commissions so that they can also support the good work that WACMIC is doing. Even in International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), one of the objectives they have set out is integration within the member countries. Already the East African countries have one, the Middle East have their own associations and are doing quite well, hence the need for us to set up our own regional body”.
He added that one of the key issues in the MoU is the issue of sharing information which is very key, given the fact that the market is information-driven and once regulators do not have an opportunity to share information, it means they cannot police the market.
“Another thing we highlighted is the setting up of committees. We have three sub-technical committees. One will look at the legal and regulatory framework because in our various jurisdictions, we all have our various laws and our own rules and regulations, so we look at how we can harmonise the commonalities in these rules and regulations. We have a committee that will look at that.
“We also have a committee that will look at risk management. One of the issues we have in this market is the issue of risk management and that is why we try to harmonise our module on how we police the market, how we monitor what goes on in the market in a bid to make them better.
“We also have a committee on market development and it will look at issues to do with new products and issues to do with how the market is going to be integrated. Those three committees will begin to work and we agreed that each of the jurisdictions will look at members that will be in those committees and begin to move from there” he added.
In his remarks, Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission of Ghana, Dr. Adu Antwi, said the association will strive to ensure that what WACMIC is doing will become a success since the regulators are the people that interface with government on policies.
Antwi expressed happiness that regulators in the sub-region were on course, adding that the association would achieve the objectives of ECOWAS to ensure that the states are integrated.
“We have seen some progress in the area of integration in the region, what will back this progress is for regulators to have their own association which will lead and ensure that what WACMIC is doing will become a success since we are the people that interface with government on policies.
“One of the reasons why we are having this association is to ensure that rules and regulations are unified and we have an integrated market. We always wanted the regulators to have their own body as policy makers so that what WACMIC is doing can be stronger. We will ensure we push this agenda and this association will be able to help in achieving the noble objectives of the states in the markets”.
At the end of the meeting, Mr. Mory Soumahoro Secretary General, Counseil Regional De L’Epargne Publique Et Des Marchès Financiers (CREPMF) was elected to chair the association for the next two years.
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