am glad to inform you that the present administration has moved consistently and decisively to up - scale general economic and financial data quality by strengthening data information flows both in bosl and mof and at the central office of statistics. these efforts have also included working closely with waifem and its technical partners to streamlining the back office functions of the mof ; and enhancing institutional capacity building efforts. government will continue to keep these measures under constant review, because the process of achieving effective debt management is not like a sprint race, but rather, could be likened to a marathon involving medium to long - term policy thrusts and interventions. ladies and gentlemen, over the past couple of minutes, i have attempted to sensitize you on some of the issues that would be dealt with in detail during this course. even so, i make no pretensions to any exhaustive analysis. i am aware that the expert faculty assembled by the organizers will do just that. all that is left for me to do is to invite you to take maximum advantage of the opportunity presented by this course to strengthen your competencies in debt data compilation in line with best practices. 4. 0 conclusion ladies and gentlemen, i would be remiss in my duty if i ended this address without expressing the profound appreciation of the board of governors of waifem to comsec, imf, and world bank for their support to waifem in strengthening capacity of countries of its member central banks in the area of debt management capacity building. before i take leave of you to commence the technical sessions, let me enjoin you to take some time off your crowded schedule to visit some of the tourist attractions in freetown, and its environs. the governors look forward toward greater collaboration between waifem and these institutions in the years ahead. on this note i have the honour to declare the course open. i thank you for your attention.

work closely with the private sector to inform policy development and ensure that governmental activities flexibly accommodate the needs of the emerging market - place. from a central bank perspective, one of the most fundamental questions raised by electronic payments is its impact on monetary policy, especially if its development is as widespread as some have predicted. in the near term, it appears that internet payments systems will not significantly impact monetary policy. for the most part, the internet and other communication networks are currently being used to facilitate existing banking transactions using traditional banking settlement channels. most payments over the internet simply result in the movement of funds from a bank account in one institution to one in the same or another bank. this should have few, if any, implications on the conduct of united states monetary policy or the measurement of the united states money supply. “ money ” as defined by m1, m2, or m3, would still be held in accounts at banks and would be reported to the federal reserve through existing reporting mechanisms. if, however, internet payments evolve to the point where digital “ coins ” or other private electronic money begin to be widely used and circulated like federal reserve bank notes, the potential implications for monetary policy could be much greater. the effect that stored value, whether smart card or computer based, has on monetary policy will in large part turn on the extent to which it shifts the money supply out of the banking sector. when stored value is issued by banks, this is not a real risk. as governor edward kelly noted in a 1996 speech before a cyber - payments conference, bank liabilities incurred through issuing stored - value cards should be included in the statistical reports that banks must currently submit to the federal reserve board. in addition to monetary policy concerns, other factors could trigger the need for the government to resolve the issue of bank versus nonbank issuance of electronic value. for example, as i noted earlier, banks are subject to extensive regulation and supervision at least in part to ensure the safety and soundness of the payments systems. if nonbanks begin to take significant market share away from - 4banks because of an inherently lower cost structure, that raises serious questions about a level playing field and whether banks can ever fairly compete. if nonbanks begin offering through the internet many of the payment services, or alternatives to the payment services, now offered exclusively by banks, it raises a real question about the ultimate value of a bank charter, and what it really means to be a bank. it could be argued, for example,