. the sarb now projects headline inflation of 6. 5 % in 2022, and 5. 7 % in 2023. the monetary policy committee has therefore moved to normalise rates, raising the repo rate by a cumulative 200 basis points since november 2021. the committee will continue to monitor inflation developments closely and respond appropriately to ensure inflation expectations remain relatively anchored. this current conjuncture adds a new layer of risk to the non - life insurance sector through its impact on costs and growth prospects. however, looking ahead, large risks loom on the horizon, namely climate - related risks and cyber - risks. climate - related risks and opportunities over the past few years, there has been growing prominence of climate - related risks, including their effect on lives and livelihoods ; health ; economic, social and cultural assets ; infrastructure and services. these risks have an impact on the environment in which the non - life sector operates, the financial system at large and the economy. thus, understanding climate - related risks and opportunities will help us highlight the areas where the non - life insurance sector can play a crucial role in helping to protect livelihoods, and enhance the resilience of the financial system. the prudential authority has embarked on a journey to better understand the impact of climate - related risks, and to inform potential regulatory and supervisory action where necessary and appropriate. a working group was formed to coordinate climaterelated work and initiatives across the sarb. current initiatives include focusing on areas such as risk assessments and developing supervisory guidance, and support regarding disclosure requirements and taxonomies. the work will result in the promulgation of various types of regulatory instruments over the next five years that aim to enhance the resilience of supervised institutions and the financial system as a whole. internationally, the international association for insurance supervisors ( iais ), through its support of the sustainable insurance forum, has published, among others, an issues paper on the implementation of the recommendations of the task force on climate - related financial disclosures in 2020, as well as an application paper on the supervision of climate - related risks in the insurance sector in 2021. recognising the importance of the topic and the continuation of work in this space, the iais has also established the climate risk steering group ( crsg ), whose work includes the development of supporting material which will be consulted on next year. although the insurance core principles ( icps ) are sufficiently broad to capture climate - related risks, and while insurer

off with the award of two further banknote printing contracts from african countries. the training and development of staff continue to be important objectives of the bank. in this regard the south african reserve bank college again played a major role by offering a variety of learning programmes. the various departments also put considerable effort into on - the - job training of staff members. the bank is further committed to achieving its objectives for staff transformation by 2005, and reports annually on its progress to the department of labour in terms of the employment equity act, no 55 of 1998. in keeping with the decision of the shareholders on 25 april 2002 to terminate the listing of the bank on the jse securities exchange south africa, an over - the - counter share transfer facility for trading reserve bank shares was established. this facility has delivered the desired results and 87 registrations in respect of 240 237 shares were effected up to 31 march 2003. finally, the extensions to the head office building, which were started in 2001, were completed. the building now meets the bank ’ s requirements in respect of office space, parking and conference facilities. staff members who had to work in other buildings or who had to be relocated to other premises for the duration of the building alterations, have been moved back to the head office building. acknowledgements all these improvements in the functioning of the reserve bank could only be achieved with the help of other persons and institutions. in conclusion, i therefore want to thank everyone who assisted the bank to accomplish its objectives. in this regard i have to name the presidency, the government and parliament for their support of our work. i also wish to express my appreciation to the board of directors of the reserve bank, including the deputy governors, for their commitment to the bank. in particular, i want to thank dr m t de waal, who retired from the board, for his contributions over the past years. last but not least, i want to thank the management and staff of the bank for the outstanding way in which they performed their duties. they have responded with vigour to all the challenges we have encountered and have demonstrated commitment and high professionalism in performing their work. this is a truly remarkable institution to be associated with. thank you.