caleb m fundanga : bank of zambia ’ s information dissemination programme speech by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, on the launch of the bank of zambia information dissemination programme, lusaka, 28 may 2007. * * * governor, kindly give brief introductory remarks on behalf of the bank of zambia board, management and staff, and indeed on my own behalf, i wish to sincerely thank the zambia national broadcasting corporation ( znbc ) for this opportunity to launch the bank of zambia information dissemination programme. this programme is part of our comprehensive strategy to inform the general public and all our stakeholders on the role of bank of zambia in the economy. what is the primary role of the bank of zambia? just to remind the listeners, the bank of zambia ’ s primary role is to formulate and implement monetary and supervisory policies that will ensure price and financial system stability. our vision, in this regard, is to become a world class central bank. what is your general assessment of the recent performance of the zambian economy? in the past few years, the zambian economy has performed relatively well, recording positive real gross domestic product ( gdp ) growth, with inflation and interest rates coming down. specifically, what have been the developments in output? during the period 2001 - 2005, growth in real gdp averaged 5. 0 % per annum. more recently, in 2006, it is estimated that the economy grew by close to 6 %, marking the eighth consecutive year of positive real growth in output. this positive growth performance has been broad - based, extending beyond the recovery of the mining sector and withstanding adverse shocks, such as droughts and record increases in oil prices. in 2006, real gdp growth was largely driven by the mining, agriculture, construction, transport and tourism sectors. last year, zambia achieved single - digit inflation in 30 years. what were the main contributing factors to this achievement? bringing inflation down to single digits has been government ’ s goal for a long time. it is, therefore, pleasing to note that last year, inflation fell to its lowest level in 30 years. at the end december 2006, the annual rate of inflation had fallen to 8. 2 % from 15. 9 % achieved in 2005 and was well below the target of 10 %. this positive development in inflation was due to continued implementation of prudent monetary and fiscal policies, coupled with increased food supply. this was despite the persistent rise in oil prices on the world market. this year so far,

also intends to conduct provincial sensitisation visits and to localise these visits by way of disseminating information in local languages and dealing with matters, which are peculiar to those provinces. governor, kindly give your closing remarks it is our hope and desire that through this information dissemination programme and other similar interventions, we shall increase the public ’ s awareness on the role of the bank of zambia in the economic development of this country. it is my honour to launch this information dissemination programme and i urge you all to listen in and actively participate in the live phone - in programme, which we will hold at the end of the radio programme. i thank you.