consistent and transparent macroeconomic policies, derived through a transparent process of consultation, analysis and discussion, with a leadership that is honest and unselfish, should help the second transformation to be completed as relatively successfully as the first. mr chairman, with this background, it is now time that i focus on the central point of my remarks - that is, the role of the central bank, in this case the bank of botswana, in the achievement of botswana ’ s economic transformation. the bank ’ s contribution to the policy environment, and the role it plays in achieving the broader national goals, is spelled out in the mandate given to it by parliament. 5 in general terms, it is a supportive role, as it is for almost all central banks in the world. specifically, the bank has, as its primary responsibility, to promote, and when achieved, to maintain monetary and financial stability. while the bank has many tasks to perform, such as, to issue the national currency, to assist the development and functioning of an efficient payments mechanism, to implement the government ’ s exchange rate policy, to manage the country ’ s foreign exchange reserves, and to provide advice and banking services to the government, all of which are important in themselves, what is of paramount importance is the achievement of monetary and financial stability goals. this is a supportive role because none of these objectives are ends in themselves ; the bank pursues them as means towards the greater end of sustainable national economic growth and development. as i noted earlier, one of the most important elements of a successful economy is a stable macroeconomic environment, which can only be achieved by pursuing sound and consistent economic policies. it is not something the bank can do alone ; every organ of the economy has a role to play. the bank ’ s part is to foster monetary and financial conditions that are conducive to an orderly, balanced and sustained development or - in the language of this event - to engage in the transformation of the economy through the combined efforts of government, private individuals and businesses, both domestic and foreign. little of what i have alluded to should be new to this well - informed group. not only are these underlying principles and objectives of a central bank embodied in the nepad initiative, it is also a message i believe you will have heard many times from your own central bank, under the able leadership of my counterpart and friend, governor sanusi, and most likely from every other central bank governor who takes the time to discuss these issues in

the 2016 and 2017 ones ; intended to complement and further enrich the policy analysis and prospects for success of the national industrialisation strategy. this is through highlighting areas for improvement, especially relating to funding and related institutional governance and operational effectiveness necessary for beneficial mobilisation and harnessing of financial resources using, where relevant, cross - country examples, such as brazil, singapore and the republic of korea. you may recall that, last year i alluded to disharmony or misaligned nexus between a stable macroeconomic environment and weak economic outcomes ; specifically insufficient growth rates, high unemployment levels and income inequality, and the resulting slow pace towards attainment of the high - income status. let me bring to your attention a recent study by the international monetary fund on “ growth in southern africa : issues and reform options ” ; it is not contained in the annual report ; but pertinent for public discourse on the “ middle - income ” trap. the study identified three factors that continue to detract from growth prospects and transition to high - income status. first, the lacklustre relative export performance and shrinking tradeable sector. in contrast to countries that attained middle - income status rapidly ( in latin america and south - east asia, for example ), for botswana, over the last few years, the private tradeable sector declined as a share of the country ’ s gdp. the second factor relates to the low and declining total factor productivity encompassing land, capital and labour. the third one is the relatively large public sector, including state - owned enterprises, with the resulting sub - optimal delivery of services and utilities, compared to middle - income peers. in their respective country assessments, the rating agencies, moody ’ s and s & p global ratings, also emphasise this last point, namely, the need for a dynamic and expanded role of the private sector in the economy, to achieve economic diversification and inclusive growth. the combination of these factors contributes to declining competitiveness in the country, in terms of access to infrastructure and utilities, skills and, ultimately, tradeable goods and services. distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the media, while the analysis is obviously relative and involves country rankings, the bank suggests that the study provides relevant issues for consideration of policy responses. notably, this is in the areas relating to the balance between inward versus outward - looking industrialisation options, land economy and management, governance and accountability frameworks of institutions, domestic resources mobilisation and allocative efficiency, capital markets development and