##powering and inspiring the youth. these included : • the mathare youth empowerment programme that focused on enhancing financial literacy amongst youth groups in mathare ; • the cbk internship programme that offers deserving college graduates an opportunity to be inspired to serve in the financial sector. • sponsorship of the kenya music festival, which entailed about six million students across the country translating the cbk mandate into poems and choral verses as well as performing the cbk theme song miaka hamsini. • a children ’ s art competition in collaboration with the national museums of kenya and the kenya bankers association, where children translated their understanding of the cbk ’ s mandate into creative pieces. the best of these are on display here at the museum and i trust that everyone will get an opportunity to view them. ladies and gentlemen, i would be remiss if i did not mention the central bank ’ s greatest assets — the people of the cbk. most of them are unsung heroes in the backrooms, banking halls, security posts, branches, cleaning crews, etc. all dedicate themselves with professionalism, integrity, and a spirit of service. the staff of the bank are not only immensely talented but have also shown exceptional dependability and dedication to the institution. i salute you! today, we will be presenting long service awards to 14 current and retired staff, who have the longest length of service. as i conclude, ladies and gentlemen, the cbk is repositioning itself for the next 50 years, and our aspiration is to be a world - class modern central bank, reflected in our processes, systems, and our staff. cbk will continue to strengthen prudential regulation and supervision, with a view to supporting the continued safety, soundness and growth of the banking sector. this is in line with kenya ’ s aspirations under vision 2030 of promoting a sound, safe and inclusive financial system to progress towards a regional financial services hub. with these remarks, ladies and gentlemen, let me once again thank all kenyans and our guests for joining us in these celebrations. hongera kwa mafanikio hadi sasa, tunaomba mema kwa siku za mbele! it is now my pleasure to invite the cabinet secretary, national treasury, mr. henry rotich, to make his remarks. karibu waziri! bis central bankers ’ speeches

, europe and around the world. yet politicians must also play their part. the crisis has shown how dangerous an unstable banking system can be for the real economy. the most important step to address this issue is, of course, to improve regulation and supervision. that has been achieved. but especially in europe it would be worthwhile to take measures to ease the real economy ’ s access to alternative sources of funding. some initial ideas on a european capital markets union are already being discussed ; let ’ s seize the opportunity to make these ideas a reality. so i should actually correct what i said at the beginning of my remarks. it isn ’ t just the banks which are now standing at the starting line of a marathon – so are politicians. and it is in everyone ’ s interest to arrive safely and swiftly at the finishing line together. thank you very much. bis central bankers ’ speeches