Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile: Fostering price stability and a sound financial system in Uganda Speech by Mr Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile, Governor of the Bank of Uganda, at the end of year thanksgiving party, held at the Bank of Uganda, Kampala, 9 December 2011. * * * Our Guest Speaker, Dr. Steve Ogan, Members of the Board, Senior Management of the Bank, Invited guests, Members of staff of the Bank, Ladies and Gentlemen. On behalf of the Board, Management and Staff of the Bank of Uganda, I am pleased to welcome you all to this end of year thanksgiving celebration. As children of God, thanksgiving ought to be integral part of our lives. Let us choose to Praise God with songs and magnify Him with thanksgiving as the Psalmist did in Psalm 69:30. We, at Bank of Uganda, have every reason to give thanks to the Almighty God. He has given us amazing victories throughout the year 2011, amidst challenges of vast magnitude at Global, regional, national, institutional and individual level. We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~ (Thornton Wilder) Out of God’s unmerited grace and favor, He has kept us alive and well throughout the year to work tirelessly towards our mission of fostering price stability and a sound financial system. We thank God for everyone within and outside the Bank that has contributed to the pursuit of our vision and mission. We have witnessed outstanding victories which could never have been achieved without grace and favor from God. Through the year, there has been a smooth and gradual transition from the old currency notes to the new notes which registered significant reductions in counterfeit crimes. We wish to thank the Almighty God for enabling us win a Global Award, the first of its kind in Africa, for the 50,000/= Uganda Currency note as the best Bank Note of the year for 2010 by International Bank Note Society (IBNS). Bank of Uganda also received an award for the Best Bank Notes Series in 2010 from International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA). The twin awards were received by the Bank of Uganda Deputy Governor in Singapore in September 2011. This came shortly after the Bank of Uganda Governor was recognized as the best African Central Bank Governor by the African Banker Awards 2011. We continue to thank God for His wisdom and guidance in streamlining monetary policy to positively impact on price stability. For the first time ever in about 20 years, the Country’s inflation rate had grown above 30%, a situation which appeared to be growing out of control. We are grateful to God that as this year draws to a close, the inflation rate is dropping from 30.4% in the month of October to 29% in November and will certainly continue to drop. The Uganda Shilling has also appreciated to the dollar from a low adverse rate of almost 2,900/= in the month of October to a higher value of 2,500/= to date. We have registered several milestones towards achievement of set goals of customer satisfaction by aiming at zero tolerance for inefficiencies in the financial, monetary and payment systems which in turn have contributed tremendously towards regional harmonization. BIS central bankers’ speeches Some of these milestones include,  Close and effective supervision of financial institutions to ensure financial soundness of the economy,  Launching of inflation targeting,  upgrade of the RTGS from a Uganda Shilling based System to one that supports East African Currencies,  creation of a platform for cross-border payments,  launching of Internet Banking,  and facelift of the BOU website. Since the Implementation of Bank of Uganda Banking System (BBS) in July 2010, the Bank has registered the following successes:  Considerable improvement in service delivery to our customers  Real time account balances and statements  Provision of daily government position  Holding 2 daily clearing sessions  And Improved financial reporting Amidst all the above milestones, there have been significant challenges. “To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist.” (Gail Sheehy). During this year, we (BOU) have featured in the media but we have seen the Almighty God vindicate us from various accusations. We continue to thank God for the registered victory, the trust that He will take us through any other challenges and that through all this we are coming out more resilient and a better BOU! This year, as part of our corporate social responsibility, we have committed to facilitate the running of a Mobile Dental Clinic for HIV positive children that will be held at Reach Out Mbuya Clinic in Kasaala on 17th December 2011. This clinic will be conducted by Dr. Brian Rushaju who is here today with his wife and I thank Dr. Rushaju for partnering with us in this cause. I want to thank each one of you very candidly for your individual and collective contributions towards making this year a great success. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to God for the opportunity to serve our nation with members of staff through the year. At the same time, my condolences go out to staff members who lost their loved ones in 2011. May the Almighty God comfort them with grace and mercy as they continue serve the Bank. I would like to encourage each one of us to celebrate life and strive to excel in our different roles here at the Bank knowing that God is indeed with us. As Dorothy Sayers put it, “Work is not primarily a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do. It is or it should be, the full expression of the worker’s faculties, the thing in which he finds spiritual, mental, and bodily satisfaction, and the medium in which he offers himself to God.” Finally, with a heart full of gratitude to the Almighty God, I wish to congratulate members of the Board, Senior Management and all members of staff for coming to the end of the year. I am eternally grateful for the contributions you have made to enable the Bank to carry out its responsibilities very effectively during the year. I also wish to thank the Bank of Uganda Christian Fellowship, for their continued prayers and intercession for the Bank. May the grace of God that enables you to take charge of this responsibility continue to abound in your lives. BIS central bankers’ speeches I thank God for all our customers including Government, Projects, Financial institutions, the public and all other stakeholders who enrich BOU’s purpose of existence. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year 2012. Last but not least, I take this opportunity to thank Dr. Steve Ogan for accepting our invitation to come and minister to us today. I now invite him (Dr Steve) to share with us the word of God. I thank you. BIS central bankers’ speeches