caleb m fundanga : the importance of cross border information exchange for zambia remarks by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the launch of the alumniportal deutschland, lusaka, 25 november 2008. * * * • her excellency the ambassador of the germany embassy in zambia • management and staff from the germany embassy in zambia • fellow alumni • members of the press • distinguished invited guests • ladies and gentlemen guten abend meine damen und herren. i am truly honoured to officiate at this important launch of the alumniportal deutschland. i am informed that africa has a rare honour of being the first continent to implement the alumniportal deutschland. i am certain that our implementation process will define the failure or success of the whole project. we thus have a huge challenge to ensure that we achieve success and provide a benchmark for others to emulate. however, looking at the many beaming faces present in this room, i have no doubt that we will provide more than just a benchmark for others to follow. i am glad to note that we are all optimistic on the success of this project in zambia in particular and africa in general. we have a duty to represent our continent and give it the honour that it so deserves. your excellency, the launch of the alumniportal could not have come at more opportune time when cross border information exchange has become cardinal in every aspects of life especially trade. i am reliably informed that almost 250, 000 people from all over the world receive education or training in germany annually. furthermore, i am advised that about 2000 african students are awarded a degree every year. the germany curricular is certainly becoming increasingly influential in business and other field in africa. this is beneficial to our continent as we are in a position to benefit from interactions with a diverse human resource in alumni activities after completion of the courses or training. however, after graduation, a good number of us zambians have a tendency to forget and cut off all windows of communications with the past. we properly pack our certificates and contacts in our archives and let them accumulate dust. we therefore, end up forgetting the precious friends that were once a great part of our lives and a source of knowledge. it is no wonder that the country ’ s representations at international institutions like the united nations, international monetary fund and the world bank is very low. this is a sharp contrast to the levels of representations at such institutions by other african countries

globalization, and the collapse of this system offers us a cautionary tale. furthermore, in a world where public and private actors taking part in economic activity are becoming ever more diverse, it would be quite a challenge to agree on what is desirable globalization and what is not. if, in despair, unilateral action, such as trade bans, mandatory domestic incorporation, or forced repatriation, is taken, everybody would become worse off. is there a way out of this predicament? if the objective of global governance is to secure global financial stability, and if global financial stability is a public good, global governance can be analyzed as a microeconomic problem regarding public goods. there are well - known options to solving the problems posed by public goods. the most straightforward is to have the public sector provide the public goods. alternatively, rules could be established regarding the consumption of public goods. another option is to tax the consumption of public goods or subsidize the production thereof. there are still other options, such as changing the public character of the goods by increasing their exclusivity. not all may be applicable to international financial stability, and some may be more easily implemented than others. in view of the discussions during various international fora in which i have participated, i have a feeling that we are making it more difficult for ourselves by opting for the seemingly most obvious option – tasking the public sector with providing international financial stability. as tommaso observed, there is a limit to what individual nation states can provide as global public goods. a coherent set of public goods provided by a single global public entity would be desirable, but there is no workable way of introducing such an arrangement consistent with our democratic principles. international organizations are often criticized for deficits in democratic accountability. on the other hand, a democratically elected world government with the power to tax is unthinkable in the near future. the current situation in the euro area is an example of this intractable problem. we therefore should aim for a more practical approach, combining various options that are known for solving the public good problem. some public goods, such as effective supervision of globally important financial institutions, could be provided at the national level. supranational institutions could be asked to take on specific tasks, such as monitoring global financial developments and identifying macroprudential risks, without undermining democratic principles. private actors could be made to follow certain rules, such as the basel rules on