% recorded in 2008. almost all key sectors of the economy recorded positive growth except for restaurants and hotels which saw negative growth due to lower tourist and business travel arrivals during the financial crisis. annual overall inflation slowed down, reverting to single digit level of 9. 9 % in december 2009 from the 16. 6 % recorded in december 2008, and was in line with the original end - year target of no more than 10 %. this outturn was attributed to the decline in both annual food and non - food inflation. in the external sector, zambia ’ s external position showed remarkable improvement as reflected in the build - up of gross international reserves to 5. 1 months of import cover in 2009 from 2. 1 months of import cover in 2008. zambia ’ s overall balance of payment position is expected to remain favourable in 2010 due to the rebound of copper prices on the international market as well as the expected increase in copper production as some mines increase production to full capacity and the resumption of production at some mines. the rebound in the international price of copper in the second half of 2009 and the return of foreign portfolio flows resulted in an appreciation of the exchange rate of the kwacha by 4 % at the end of the year. however, fiscal performance in 2009 was weak, mainly due to the global economic crisis, which reduced domestic revenues. despite this, government remained within the programmed domestic financing for the year. ladies and gentlemen, the financial sector has remained resilient despite the adverse effects of the recent global financial crisis. currently, the zambian financial sector is characterised by high liquidity levels, reflecting tighter lending standards in the wake of the lessons from the global financial crisis leading to marked decline in private sector lending. as a result, the demand for the relatively risk free government securities has increased causing a decline in yield rates on government securities. the decline in government securities yield rates and relatively low inflation experienced since the beginning of the year should contribute to a decline in banks lending rates and thus stimulate borrowing by the private sector. ladies and gentlemen, the critical role the accounting profession plays in enhancing economic development cannot be over - emphasized. one of the most important role the profession plays in any organization is to provide accurate, reliable and high quality financial information which communicates an organization ’ s operating results, its overall health, as well as raise the transparency of its various operating activities. the other role is the audit function, both internal and external, which provides independent assurance of the information produced by accountants

will be how to translate the findings from new data into concrete policy implications. after all, the micro evidence has to add up to policy advice for monetary policy which is a macro policy with a rather limited set of instruments. therefore, in some cases, other policies – such as macro - prudential, fiscal or structural policies – could be more appropriate for tackling the challenges that new data reveal. thank you for your attention. 1 liquidity - constrained households are indeed unable or unwilling to borrow against the future rise in income that the promise of low rates underpins ( kaplan et al. ). according to lenza and slacalek, the effects of qe and unconventional monetary policy on income via lower unemployment ( benefiting the poor ) are more significant than the effects of high prices for financial assets ( benefiting the wealthy ). 3 globalisation is another structural phenomenon that has the potential to influence our thinking about monetary policy – a view the bis often emphasises – and which could also have implications for what data to monitor. as claudio borio from the bis suggests, many of the issues surrounding digitalisation could apply in a somewhat similar way for globalisation as well ( i refer to his “ through the looking glass " speech from 2017 ). 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches