West Africa to get new currency in 2020.

A revamped common currency in West Africa known as the ECO will be launched in 2020, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.

The ECO is supposed to replace the CFA franc which is currently being used in eight West African countries and six countries in central Africa.

During a trip to Ivory Coast on Saturday, in cooperation with eight West African countries — Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo — Macron announced at a joint news conference with the Ivorian president that France is working towards loosening up the supervision of the currency.

Macron, speaking in Abidjan, the economic capital of Ivory Coast, described colonialism as a “grave mistake and a fault of the republic” according to a DW News report.

The move to drop the CFA franc is part of France’s plan to rebuild relations with its former African colonies.

J’ai souhaité engager la France dans une réforme historique et ambitieuse de la coopération entre l’union économique et monétaire ouest africaine et notre pays. Nous le faisons pour la jeunesse africaine. pic.twitter.com/4CwuOzOZSE

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 21, 2019

“I wanted to engage France in a historic and ambitious reform of cooperation between the West African economic and monetary union and our country. We do it for African youth,” Macron wrote on his official Twitter page on Saturday.

Known as “Colonies Francaises d’Afrique” (French colonies in Africa), the CFA franc was established in 1945 and has been tagged as a controversial currency for its control by France.

The currency was initially pegged to the French franc but has been linked to the euro since 1999. A French representative has been on the board of the currency’s union.

French colonies have had to store 50% of their foreign currency reserves with France in return for France guaranteeing the currency.

But the new currency revamps announced by Macron will not require African countries in the ECOs economic bloc to keep half their reserves with France or have a representative sit on their currency’s board.

It will, however, remained pegged to euro and guaranteed by France.

On his official Twitter page, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara described the adoption of the ECO as a step in building more business-oriented relations free from colonial influence.

La réforme du F CFA prend en compte notre volonté de construire notre futur de manière responsable, afin d’attirer les investissements privés, de créer des emplois et de poursuivre le développement économique de nos pays.

— Alassane Ouattara (@AOuattara_PRCI) December 22, 2019