national policy on economic diversification, by supporting the diamond and related business ventures. honoured guests, the entry of another bank in the botswana ’ s financial sector can only heighten expectations of better and cost effective service delivery as the sector responds to the needs of the economy. we are, however, aware that the realisation of this goal still faces some challenges. to begin with, and as eloquently highlighted by his honour the vice president earlier this week, there is public concern ( some would say outcry ) about bank charges that are out of sync with the quality of service. the insidious effect of these high charges is that they impede progress towards financial inclusion ; they also discourage saving and the all - important activity of financial intermediation. this is against the backdrop of research which has shown that, in sub - saharan africa, 27 percent of men and 22 percent of women have access to financial services ; this includes bank accounts, credit and insurance. these very low financial inclusion ratios are less than half of those of developed countries, where 92 percent of men and 87 percent of women have access to financial services. i trust that the entry of the bank of india into the country ’ s banking sector will contribute positively to the country ’ s efforts to enhance access to financial services by all segments of the population. please allow me to sing from the same hymn book with his honour the vice president again, when he expressed the expectation that, as primary operators of the payments system, banks need to put in place modern banking and payments technologies to enhance the efficiency and timeliness of the clearing and settlement systems. the bank of botswana is confident that the entry of the bank of india ( botswana ) limited to the botswana clearing system, will provide the added impetus to the cheque imaging and truncation project, the objective of which is, among others, to reduce the cheque clearance cycle. time is of the essence in this respect. furthermore, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, you will agree that it ’ s about time the country had a well - developed and functioning interbank market which would provide an enabling environment for funds of any quantum to flow between and among banks on the one hand, and their customers on other hand ; and at the same time lending a hand to the monetary policy transmission mechanism. so far, the bank of botswana efforts of fostering the development of an efficient inter - bank market have not yet borne desirable fruit. these efforts are frustrated, in part, by the

the international monetary fund and other concerned parties cannot afford to be complacent, for to do so is to ask for trouble. to paraphrase a recent piece by larry summers, this is a time when a lack of fear would be cause for concern. 1 this is not the time, therefore, to argue that the international financial institutions have become obsolete. on the contrary ; given what are commonly referred to as “ global imbalances ”, global monetary stability has become even more uncertain, a situation which calls for the fund to safeguard global stability now and into the future. moreover, the seemingly increased prosperity of many developing countries, although typically from very low levels, may tempt the advanced economies to drag their feet in implementing important previously promised initiatives, including the increase in aid to africa l. summers “ a lack of fear is cause for concern ”. financial times 27 december, 2006. by the g8 and pushing for a successful conclusion to the doha round of trade negotiations. failure to fulfil these commitments energetically, and now, risks missing the opportunity afforded by the current favourable global economic conditions to sustain global prosperity. worse still, it would undermine the very dynamic that underpins the current rapid pace of economic growth. in fact, a well known economist, joseph stiglitz, may have exaggerated the current global economic situation, when he described it as being close to having conditions where all countries, including the poorest, can benefit. it is my belief, however, that we are still far from achieving that desirable goal, despite the undeniable rapid speed of globalisation. globalisation and world trade speaking of globalisation, we are aware that, for the most part, it is driven by technological advances that have made diverse means of transport and communication increasingly cheaper. as a national of a developing country, i firmly believe that we should seek to take advantage of the many opportunities offered by globalisation rather than seek to avoid the accompanying challenges. i am convinced that the challenge is to improve levels of productivity as the key to rising living standards ; this is a fundamental truth which i never tire to raise. but how can we maintain this positive approach when so many larger and more developed economies are so wary of some of the effects of globalisation? the scope for avoiding the challenges of globalisation is almost non existent. even bilateral and regional trade agreements may not be favourable to small developing countries such as botswana with a population of only 1. 8 million, given the world trading system