clearly in manufacturing where the mass - production of standard items will become dominated by the big asian countries, and we must find other avenues which are opened up by the possession of more specialised skills. this is more complicated than it sounds. some people think that china is only going to dominate low - tech things such as textiles, clothing and footwear, basic utensils, consumer electronics, etc. but they could dominate a lot more than that ; they could dominate anything that can be produced on a large scale, even if it is technologically sophisticated, such as cars and semiconductors. what we will need to be good at will be in producing things that are specialised rather than mass - produced, skill - intensive and which, in many cases, may be difficult to identify other than by trial and error. they will include both manufactured goods and specialised services for export, but will also involve using the best applied science available to increase productivity in our traditional resourcebased industries and in those parts of the economy not involved in international trade such as construction or domestic transport. there are no short cuts here. the thing we know is that profitable opportunities will only be found if we have a culture of inquiry and innovation. this in turn can only happen if we have a vigorous educational and scientific environment where excellence is valued and rewarded. an illustration of this is if we think back to the discussions in 2000 at the height of the technology boom. there was a widely - held view at that time that the countries that would get ahead were those that manufactured it and telecommunications equipment, and that if you did not do so you would fall behind. there was even the suggestion floated in this country that we should entice intel to open a chip factory here. in fact, all the research that has now come to light shows that it is the application of the new technologies which leads to the big increases in productivity, not the manufacture. in fact, manufacturing often takes place in a huge foreign - owned factory, using orthodox mass production techniques, with very little spin - off to the rest of the economy. my third theme is demographic. all around the developed world, populations are aging and the growth of working - age populations is slowing or, in some cases, falling. more retired people are being supported by fewer working people. we should be looking ahead and encouraging higher labour force participation by older workers. the intergenerational report produced by the government will be a very useful document on which to base thinking on policy options.

key management personnel ; and separation of the positions of ceos and board chairs. a total of 184 bank directors undertook the mandatory annual directors ’ corporate governance certification training programme. of this number, over 50 percent have fully completed the programme, while the rest who are at various certification stages will be certified by the deadline of end - march 2020. 14. let me reiterate that as regulators, we will continue to commit our resources towards ensuring that financial institutions improve their internal controls and risk management systems since the safety and soundness of institutions pivots on these principles. also, we will continue to create an enabling regulatory environment that encourages innovation in the industry, while ensuring that we continually strengthen our supervisory and enforcement capabilities to ensure sanity in the industry. that way, we can ensure that ghana ’ s banking business is conducted in a safe and sound manner and with integrity, thereby retaining the trust and confidence depositors, and indeed the general public, reposed in the industry. 15. ladies and gentlemen, let me once again congratulate absa bank ghana and the absa group for the successful transition. i trust that we can count on your support as we move the banking sector to new heights in support of ghana ’ s growth and development agenda. thank you.