Why is English language absent on the new BEAC banknotes? – Cameroonians

Some Cameroonians have aired their frustration after the Bank of Central African States(BEAC) unveiled new banknotes for Central Africa.

BEAC has also put in place authentication measures for new Bank notes — which are expected to go into circulation as from December 16, 2022.

However, there have been mixed reactions — with many questioning the language used to present the verification methods, with many criticising the values of the Bank notes.

“Cameroon has finally abandoned English. I can see words in Arabic and French only, why is English absent in almost everything when Cameroon is a bilingual nation?” a Facebook user questioned.

“Everything in French, this means it doesn’t concern the English people,” wrote another social media user.

Meanwhile, some are also questioning how persons in remote areas will be able to differentiate between real and fake notes.

“How would an old woman in the village differentiate between the 2? At times you guys need some slaps on your faces like the one given to the French President.”

“Please has the value increased? and if yes what will happen to the old notes because it seems some people are hiding old notes in cases for a particular purpose or project?” another user questioned.

These new banknotes were unveiled during the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Brazzaville Agreements from November 20 to 22, 2022 in Ndjamena (Chad).

Editor’s Note:

Preliminary investigation by the MMI editor has noticed that some of the new bank notes carry English in the denomination section. But it’s still unclear whether this can be found across all the notes, as such, the findings of this article are still work in progress and would be updated shortly.

By Amina Hilda