caleb m fundanga : campaign to keep zambia clean and healthy opening remarks by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the review walk of the “ keep lusaka clean, green and healthy campaign project ”, lusaka, 17 september 2009. * * * the acting minister of local government and housing, hon bradford machila his worship the mayor of lusaka, his worship robert chikwelete the chairman of the baz, mr saviour chibiya chief executive officers of commercial banks distinguished invited guests members of the press ladies and gentlemen i am honored to officiate at this important occasion at which banks have undertaken to conduct a review of the “ keep lusaka clean, green and healthy campaign ”. hon minister, as you are aware, the “ make zambia clean and healthy ” campaign was launched by the government in 2007 and was aimed at keeping our surroundings clean and green in order to improve the health standards throughout the country. you may wish to know that the banking sector through the bankers association of zambia and the bank of zambia commenced work immediately after the national launch. a project committee was formed and each bank including the boz embarked on implementing the campaign by making financial contributions. to ensure a uniform landscape on all islands along cairo road, a single company was employed to carry out landscaping and maintenance works including maintaining and keeping the pavements and gardens clean and green. the programme also included placing dustbins along the pavements and ensuring that the street lights were repaired and lit. it is highly gratifying to see how much work has been accomplished and i am sure that the results are clear for all of us to see today. this initiative, ladies and gentlemen, is one sure way of inculcating and promoting a culture of cleanliness amongst our people. it is also an effective way of expressing our corporate social responsibility. beautiful and clean surroundings also go a long way in complementing government ’ s efforts of developing tourism. in fact another dimension of the initiative required that all banks including the boz maintain and keep their offices and surroundings clean at all times. in this regard, we at the bank of zambia have introduced regular inspections of offices while ensuring that all staff are aware of their responsibilities towards the clean campaign. furthermore, by keeping their premises or business environment clean, banks provide the satisfaction that customer need. you would all agree with me that a business done in a clean environment leave the customer totally relaxed and in good spirit, prompting another visit in future

##note processing, banknote security features, counterfeit notes, just to mention but a few, which are all relevant to both the central bank and commercial banks being the main cash handlers. ladies and gentlemen, let me briefly touch on one of the issues that will be addressed at this workshop, that of counterfeit notes. the bank of zambia faces challenges in this area, especially with regard to the highest value denomination, the k50, 000. however, the volumes are not alarming as evidenced by the prevailing statistics. for instance, the ratio of counterfeit notes in circulation to currency in circulation in the k50, 000 is negligible at 0. 000036 % as at end june 2011. this has been the case for the past five years. despite the aforementioned statistic, it still remains our responsibility to ensure that this illegal activity is curbed by sensitizing the general public about the genuine security features of the zambian banknotes. distinguished participants, the topics that will be addressed at this workshop will provide you with an opportunity to learn modern methods of cash processing. as you may be aware, the bank has made attempts to automate cash operations. as a result, the bank acquired the bis central bankers ’ speeches bps 1000 banknote sorting machines with an integrated banknote destruction system in 2008. the process of automating currency operations is one of the bank ’ s key strategic objectives. this workshop provides us with a unique opportunity to share our experiences with the printers of our banknotes and suppliers of the cash processing equipment. please use this opportunity to tap knowledge from the vast experience and expertise of our resource persons. finally, i wish to urge workshop participants to actively participate during deliberations of this workshop. with these few words, it is now my honour and privilege to declare this workshop officially open. i thank you! bis central bankers ’ speeches