official opening of absa bank botswana limited shakawe branch keynote speech by moses d pelaelo governor, bank of botswana february 3, 2022 director of ceremonies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure and, indeed, an honour for me to have been invited to be part of this evening ’ s ceremony marking the of cial opening and launch of the shakawe branch of absa bank botswana limited ( absa bank ). for the reasons that should be obvious to many, this is an invitation that the head of banking supervision department, mr godfrey ngidi and i could not decline. therefore, my colleagues and i would like to thank you, the managing director and, through you, the board of absa bank for inviting us to join you and the people of shakawe on the occasion of the of cial opening of this beautiful branch. director of ceremonies, let me indicate, at the outset, that today ’ s event, is of major signi cance in a myriad of ways. first and foremost, i can imagine that it responds to a major aspiration of the people of the north west region of botswana, the okavango sub - district in particular, which has been and continues to be comparatively underbanked, even if acknowledging that absa bank has three branches and eight atms in the north west district ; second, the opportunity to project the potential fi fi fi fi fi economic bene ts emanating from broadening of access to nancial services in this region and, third and more broadly, what absa has done is aligned to public policy objectives of growing a more inclusive nancial sector. as many of us would be aware, the okavango region is an important hub for botswana tourism activity, encompassing linkages with the global economy, with wide geographical coverage and, therefore, large distances between any concentration of facilities and service points. furthermore, it has the potential and conditions to make leaps in economic activity ; thus, in some way contributing to the rates of economic growth needed to propel the botswana economy to highincome status by 2036. in the circumstances, any improvement in the provision of nancial services ( number and channels of delivery ) becomes a key ingredient in unlocking or increasing the economic value that is inherent in the unique features of the okavango region. let me also acknowledge that, indeed, as an important infrastructure development, the mohembo bridge would similarly have a large positive impact on

, there are issues of digital currencies and block chain technologies. while distributed ledger technologies, albeit not yet mature, offer hope and opportunities for enhancing the efficiency and resilience of the payment infrastructure, for central banks, digital currencies are not yet convincing and, in my view, rightly remain an area for other stakeholders. this is not to suggest that these developments are not keenly watched and monitored. the bank has also entrenched a transparent and, i would say, effective policy framework for management of inflation and related expectations that has so far been successful. since 2013, inflation has been within and, at times, even below the objective range of 3 – 6 percent. in this environment, there is scope for affordable access to financial resources, their productive deployment and greater opportunities for generating real returns. the transparency of the exchange rate framework and absence of exchange controls removes uncertainty and encourages use of various platforms for financial inclusion, as well as informed decision - making and planning by economic agents. effective supervision of the banking sector and oversight of the payments system and related infrastructure also contributes to financial inclusion. in particular, this is to the extent that policy, legislative and regulatory developments embrace advances in the provision of financial services, new technology and payments methods, while ensuring that integrity, resilience and stability of the financial system is maintained. in this regard, there is continuing patronage and growth in usage of the financial sector and related services, as evidenced by the sustained expansion of financial services and increasing share in gdp. in concluding, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a stable macroeconomic environment, characterised by low and predictable levels of inflation, safe, sound and inclusive financial sector, supportive regulatory environment and well - informed consumers of financial services is positive for wealth creation and preservation, as well as inclusive growth. i thank you for your kind attention.