being undertaken collaboratively is on ict governance implementation within the central banks using the control objectives for information and related technology ( cobit ) framework. mr chairman and distinguished delegates, the importance of ict governance can never be over emphasized. you may recall that infamous scandals such as enron in the usa, were largely caused by lack of resilient and sound corporate governance structures within the corporation. it is therefore only prudent that we must embrace and implement proper corporate governance structures in our central banks. the recent emergence of good corporate governance as a key business driver has seen the emergence of a new ball game, hence the importance of such frameworks as cobit. it is therefore my hope that by the end of the conference, delegates will learn and share a lot of issues on this tool. let me now turn my attention to another key issue that i expect delegates to discuss at this conference. this relates to the operation of the regional indicative strategic development plan ( risdp ), which is the sadc long - term ( 15 - year ) strategy. briefly, the risdp realigns the cooperation and integration priorities ; articulates the policies and strategies ; and, sets the overall targets of the processes for the different priority intervention areas. as you all know ict is listed as one such critical area. i therefore trust that this conference will seek to prepare a risdp action plan which will steer icts within the sadc region to higher levels. equally important, i also expect that this initiative will assist central banks to harmonise their functions so that they can benefit from each others ’ resources and knowledge. mr chairman and distinguished delegates, at this juncture let me also thank representatives of the hardware and software suppliers for coming to this conference. these are our partners and the technologies that have been implemented in our central banks would not have been possible without their technical advice, expertise and innovation. it is the wish of the reserve bank of malawi that in future all the sadc central banks can enter into group agreements on certain ict services that are provided by the vendors. we believe that this would enable us share the cost of expensive ict resources in order to achieve economies of scale. i would like to conclude by again thanking you all for coming to this conference and to malawi, which is widely recognized the world over as the “ warm heart of africa. ” you obviously may not have ample time to see what lake malawi has to offer but the least you can do is to sample our most popular “

to note that for the rbm to function effectively there are a number of departments that carry out several functions aimed at meeting the institutional objectives. the following are the departments ; research and statistics, treasury, exchange control and debt management, banking and payment systems, bank supervision, supervision of non - bank financial services, currency management, legal affairs, administration, information, communication and technology, accounting and finance, internal audit, risk management, human resource and institutional development, protective services and public relations. there will be brief presentations from some of the departments where most of what i have said will be clarified further. in addition, you will go around some of these departments to see what goes on there. i hope that we can have an exciting exchange of ideas after going through these departments. once again, we are pleased to have you here and please do take the opportunity to learn about this unique institution. lastly, let me take this opportunity to invite you back to this room where your burning questions should be asked and possible responses given. thank you for your attention. may god bless you all.