Monetary Management in Sub-Saharan Africa: Key Issues

In response to difficulties associated with direct monetary controls, many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are shifting to indirect, market-based, systems of monetary management. As monetary authorities make that transition they are confronting four sets of issues – monetary programming and reserve management, the transmission mechanism, the development of a viable, competitive financial system, and restoring confidence in domestic financial markets and financial instruments. Fortunately, dealing with these issues will improve monetary management even if the transition to indirect controls is not made.