caleb m fundanga : zambia ’ s economic overview and its accountancy profession remarks by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the 2010 zambia institute of chartered accountants annual ball, lusaka, 24 april 2010. * * * the president – zambia institute of chartered accountants ( zica ), mr. chintu mulendema the president – eastern, central and southern african federation of accountants, mr. koos du toit the president international federation of accountants, mr. robert bunting the secretary & chief executive – zambia institute of chartered accountants, mr. hapenga kabeta the chief executive officer – eastern, central and southern african federation of accountants, mr. vickson ncube distinguished members of zica members of the press ladies and gentlemen i am greatly honoured to have the opportunity to join you this evening and to say a few words on the important role that the accountancy profession plays in our economy. the importance of the accountancy profession has indeed been highlighted following the recent global financial crisis in which a lack of appropriate governance arrangements and clarity about the inherent risks taken by financial institutions contributed to the near collapse of financial markets in the developed economies. clearly the accountancy profession has an important role to play in ensuring that the regulatory response to the crisis leads to more robust and transparent financial institutions that serve the needs of households and firms and avoids the build - up of systemic risks. may i take this opportunity to commend zica for the tremendous progress it has made in the development of the accountancy profession in zambia. i am aware that the number of qualified accountants in the country has continued to grow with zica boasting a total of 3, 606 members as at december 2009 compared to 2, 938 in the previous year. this is no doubt a testimony to the growing number of institutions that are offering quality accountancy training courses. the growing number of accountants is also a reflection of the economic achievements the country has scored in the recent past. it is worth noting that as the economy continues to post positive economic growth, the country ’ s need for accountants will also increase. distinguished members, allow me at this moment to briefly highlight the performance of the economy in 2009. although projections of gdp growth for 2009 had been revised downwards to 4. 3 % on account of the effects of the global financial and economic melt - down, preliminary data indicates that the economy posted a real gdp growth rate of 6. 3 % compared with the 5. 7

18million ). increased participation in both the money and capital markets by non - bank financial institutions with proposals for issuance of other corporate bonds are also under current consideration. mr chairman, some of the key sectors with potential investment include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism and energy. mr. chairman, given all these developments which i have cited, one can tell that there are enormous possibilities for the financial sector in zambia. in this regard, our expectation, at the bank of zambia, is that the financial sector should take a leading role in facilitating further developments in the areas which i have discussed. however, during our interactions, key players in the financial sector have informed us that they have a limited capacity to provide the required services in this regard. this forum has therefore been organized and arranged by the bank of zambia to bring together zambian financial sector players and international financial players who have an interest to see that zambia takes its rightful place in the world economy. our expectation is that after this forum, we shall see the emergence of an interactive and symbiotic alliance between international and zambia financial institutions whose goal will be to provide financial services that will uplift the well - being of the zambian populace at large. this sounds like a difficult task to achieve but it is my conviction that it is better to begin a step towards this direction rather than waiting for it happen in future. on a lighter note, ladies and gentlemen, let me remind you that the soccer world cup to be hosted by south africa in 2010, has attracted increased demand in the construction and tourism sectors in the whole southern african region. zambia needs to take advantage of this and invest heavily in the tourism industry to benefit from the event ; particularly that it has a vast number of national parks and the victoria falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. obviously this can only be done if there is long term partnerships between local financial institutions and international financial institutions like the ones invited here today. mr. chairman, ladies and gentlemen, i thank you for your attention.