this area and we are monitoring the situation in the market to ensure that borrowers are enjoying a reduction in their effective lending rates. we do not want the reduction in the base lending rates to be cosmetic, but should be reflected in lower effective lending rates for measures taken so far to be meaningful. furthermore, with the reduction in the corporate tax rate for banks recently announced by the minister of finance in his 2012 budget, the expectation is for a further reduction in lending rates by commercial banks going forward. ladies and gentlemen, this initiative is positive and both bancabc and norfund should be highly commended for it. as a financing institution, i am aware that norfund financing rates are favourable. i want to encourage bancabc to pass the benefit of getting money at bis central bankers ’ speeches favourable norfund rates to the final borrowers so that the sme sector will experience the full benefit of this relationship. i wish to end by wishing bancabc the best and success in growing a successful sme lending portfolio. i thank you … bis central bankers ’ speeches

caleb m fundanga : the mdg - consistent monetary policies talking notes by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the official opening of the undp organised workshop on macroeconomic analysis and modelling in support of millenium development goals - based planning, lusaka, 29 october 2007. * * * introduction first and foremost, i would like to thank the undp through the resident representative, mr aeneas c. chuma, for inviting me to say a few remarks at the opening of this important international workshop on “ macroeconomic analysis and modelling in support of millennium development goal ( mdg ) - based planning ”. let me also welcome you all, especially those who have traveled from other countries to come and attend this workshop. i understand that the aim of this workshop is to strengthen the foundation laid for mdgbased planning processes in africa on the issues of pro - poor polices and macroeconomic modelling and to explain what an mdg - consistent medium - term expenditure framework ( mtef ) is all about. the workshop is also intended to sensitise and enhance your knowledge of pro - poor policies in the context of mdg - based planning and strengthen understanding and skills in mdg - consistent macroeconomic modelling and mtef. furthermore, at the end of the workshop, participants should be able to : • better understand the linkages between macroeconomic programming and strategic planning ; • plan steps to be taken with respect to sustainable capacity development for macroeconomic modelling and strategic budgeting at various country levels ; and • strengthen the national ownership and leadership in mdg - based planning and implementation process. mr chairman, central banks the world over have a critical role to play in a country ’ s economic development. as you may all be aware, central banks ’ monetary and supervisory policies are implemented to ensure that there is price and financial system stability to promote macroeconomic development. in this regard, monetary policies or any other policy for that matter that are not consistent with the mdgs in the current macroeconomic dispensation should be considered irrelevant to the welfare of our countries. it is for this reason that, without exception, monetary policies in the developing countries have to be mdg - consistent. price stability the primary objective of most central banks is price stability, which is achieved through the implementation of appropriate monetary policy. high inflation is a major source of concern to any country as it poses a threat to economic development. it is in this context that a central bank ’ s