caleb m fundanga : innovation for leadership excellency remarks by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the eastern and southern african management institute ( esami ) launch of mba alumni zambia chapter, lusaka, 12 february 2010. * * * the eastern and southern african management institute ( esami ) director general, prof. bonnard mwape ; the president, esami mba alumni zambia chapter, mr. christopher mulenga ; the ecobank zambia limited managing director, mrs charity lumpa ; esami alumni ; distinguished invited guests ; members of the press ; ladies and gentlemen. it is a great pleasure for me to officiate at the launch of the esami mba alumni zambia chapter. i wish to take this opportunity to welcome prof. bonnard mwape and other esami staff that have travelled from arusha to come and witness this important occasion. i am particularly delighted to be part of this launch because my first interaction with the esami mba alumni members was during the recent summer school event held in arusha, tanzania, where i was invited to present a paper on “ the effects of the global economic crisis on zambia ”. indeed my memories of that lively interaction are still very fresh and that is why i graciously accepted to officiate at this function when i received the invitation from the president of the association. ladies and gentlemen allow me to congratulate the president and his team for this excellent initiative of bringing together individuals with a common academic background under the alumni umbrella. i am informed that one of the objectives of the association is to utilise the acquired scholarly knowledge and experience to add value to society through leadership in various projects and initiatives. i know that alumni associations world over have existed for centuries and most of them have one basic principle, that of benefiting members wherever they may be and for free. however i am told that your association other than just carryout activities for the benefit of members will go a step further to do benevolent activities for the benefit of society at large. this is commendable and i am looking forward to see what initiatives you have outlined to advance welfare in our society. mr president, the theme for this launch this evening “ innovation for leadership excellency ” is indeed very timely and appropriate to the norms and beliefs that i am told your association espouses. it is innovations such as yours that gives us the comfort that you are indeed giving back to society following the huge resources that were invested in

money you will owe since interest will be charged each month on the unsettled balance. cardholders therefore need to be careful not use the card liberally. if you think, the card makes you throw caution to the wind as you spend ; you might consider leaving the card alone. the possibility of falling into a debt trap is another real danger that cardholders need to watch out for. interest rates on credit cards can be high. in some countries interest rates on credit cards can be as high as ten times what banks are willing to give on deposit balances. we will keep our sight on what rates apply in the market as a central bank and may even intervene if necessary. but the responsibility of avoiding falling into a debt trap lies primarily with the cardholder. it is prudent to remember that whilst a credit card can make your life easier and can be a wonderful tool for facilitating payments, if you do not use it wisely, it will become a massive financial burden for you. we must learn some lessons from how failure to keep track of purchases and the uncontrollable propensity to spend outside budget, has led to the financial ruin of many people in the developed economies. the last risk, i want to talk about is pertinent to both cardholders and issuers of cards – and that is the risk of credit card frauds. cards can be physically stolen or credit card numbers can be acquired by thieves over the phone, internet or website and then used illegally to rack up debts. access bank must therefore, develop adequate security measures that can protect it and its clients from the crimes which seem to pervade the electronic based payment platforms. to fight this crime, you will need to educate your customers on how to safely and securely conduct transaction using their cards. you will help prevent fraud by educating your customers on what to do when they lose their card or wallet, how to secure their card by, for instance, not giving out credit card information anyhow or on the website and the need to check statements closely. on their part, cardholders must also do their part as responsible bis central bankers ’ speeches cardholders, including paying off balances on credit cards as required, not loaning credit cards to others or divulging credit card information to anyone not entitled to it. chairman, ladies and gentlemen, let me reiterate my words of commendation to access bank for introducing this product on the market. it is a great product which when used properly