, our domestic traded goods industries, such as tourism and horticulture, need access to first class financial services of the type which bank of baroda can provide. entebbe has been chosen by the united nations as its hub for its operations in this region of africa ; a decision which will generate more business for the town, especially in the services sector. government also plans to build a new highway to connect entebbe to kampala and to the road networks which lead to the northern and western parts of this country. the new highway will ease traffic congestion, reduce travel times and thus lower costs for businesses which are located in this area or which use the facilities in this area, such as the airport. the business community in entebbe can thus look forward to growing opportunities across a broad range of business activities, and now has a partner in the name of bank of baroda, one the oldest and best established banks in uganda, with which to do business. bis central bankers ’ speeches with these remarks, allow me to once again congratulate the shareholders, the board and senior management of bank of baroda ( u ) ltd for demonstrating their commitment to serve the people of uganda. it is now my pleasure and honour to declare bank of baroda ( u ) ltd. entebbe branch officially opened for banking business. i thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

to an estimated growth in public sector consumption of only 1½ per cent. the rest will be spent on government transfers and wage growth. this is consistent with close adherence to the new fiscal guidelines. the new guidelines for fiscal and monetary policy were introduced simultaneously, and are not independent of each other. fiscal policy is geared towards the phasing in of oil revenues ; monetary policy has been given a more explicit responsibility for macroeconomic stabilisation. monetary policy is to be oriented towards low and stable inflation. the inflation target is set at 2½ per cent. monetary policy affects the economy with considerable and variable lags. the key rate is set on the basis of an overall assessment of the inflation outlook two years ahead. if it appears that inflation will be higher than 2½ per cent with unchanged interest rates, the interest rate will be increased. if it appears that inflation will be lower than 2½ per cent with unchanged interest rates, the interest rate will be reduced. it is just as important to avoid an inflation rate that is too low as it is to avoid an inflation rate that is too high. up to march 2001, the bank pursued exchange rate stability against european currencies. implicitly, this meant that inflation in norway had to be kept at the target for the euro area. from 1999 onwards, the ecb ’ s target was defined as an inflation rate below 2 per cent. since the introduction of an inflation target, the underlying inflation rate has been around 2½ per cent. the rate of increase in the headline cpi has shown somewhat wider variations, but averaged 2¼ per cent in the 1990s. the use of oil revenues must be counteracted by a tight monetary policy. a tight monetary policy implies relatively high interest rates, a strong krone, or both. as fiscal policy creates demand for resources in public services and other sheltered sectors, industries exposed to foreign competition may be faced with difficulties finding labour and higher labour costs. the contest for resources is likely to lead to a real appreciation of the krone and a deterioration of competitiveness in our exposed sectors. the krone exchange rate has appreciated as a result of a wider interest rate differential between norway and other countries. combined with low growth abroad and increased trade with low - cost countries such as china, this has led to a fall in import prices. the relatively high price increases of norwegian products reflect high wage growth and a tight labour market. the krone exchange rate, measured against the trade - weighted index, has appreciated