especially in west africa. ladies and gentlemen, on numerous occasions, our businesses have dwindled mainly due to lack of genuine suppliers, reliable customers or due to excessive costs. these are mainly caused by a lack of knowledge of cheaper sources of inputs, little knowledge about customers and supply bottlenecks as a result of dealing with many agents in the supply line. this is costly and no business can be profitable in the medium to long term without proper networks in their business lines. net working is about creating a set of contacts and subsequently building a trusting and genuine relationship with these people. networking provides the opportunity to discover people who may be able to offer assistance to one ’ s business and who may also benefit from the assistance that one has to offer. in this global economy, millions of transactions are made on a daily basis across borders, regions and continents. for these transactions to be cost effective and profitable there is need to remove information asymmetries and to reduce the risk of moral hazard. these significant impediments can greatly be avoided by counting on the contacts that one may have in a different country region or continent. the end product would thus be increase in economic welfare for all. your excellency, at a country level, zambia still requires significant levels of investment in many sectors of the economy to achieve desirable levels of growth. the country possesses abundant natural resources and human capital. it is also surrounded with eight neighbouring countries and close proximity to the large market of south africa, a surface area of over 750, 000 sq km, and an approximate population of over 11 million people. its active participation in the sadc trade protocol and the comesa / fta offers preferential tariff access to market potential of about 380 million plus people. the country also boasts of a suitable climate, peace and a multi - party competitive democratic political system. the country thus possesses all the necessary attributes for sustainable economic growth and development. however, most economic resources remain untapped due to low investments. the low investment levels in the country could partly be attributed to the lack of knowledge of the local situation by the potential investors. in order to complement, government ’ s efforts in marketing the country ’ s investment potential, we all need to use our contacts and friends to disseminate information on the vast economic potential that exists in the country. with the current economic challenges emanating global financial meltdown, the need for increased investment levels in the country can not be over emphasised. therefore, i challenge all

caleb m fundanga : the bank of zambia and the insurance industry speech by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the end of year cocktail party for the zambia state insurance corporation limited clients, lusaka, 1 december 2004. * * * the master of ceremony the registrar - pensions and insurance authority the board chairman - zambia state insurance corporation the board chairman - zambia state insurance pension trust fund madam managing director - ms muyenga distinguished invited guests ladies and gentlemen good evening! i wish to thank the managing director of zambia state insurance corporation limited - ms muyenga, for inviting me and my wife to be the guest of honour at this end of year cocktail party. despite the fact that the bank of zambia is not directly associated with the insurance industry, this function gives me a rare opportunity to say something about the relationship between the bank of zambia and the insurance industry. in the past few years, the bank of zambia has taken keen interest in the operations and performance of the insurance companies and pension funds. this is because insurance companies and pension funds have a direct impact on macro - economic variables, since most of them are leading players in the government securities market. whenever the government wishes to raise funds, it is these institutions together with commercial banks that provide them. ladies and gentlemen, many of you will agree with me that the recent downward trend and stabilisation in the macro - economic variables, such as interest, inflation, and exchange rates, has induced high levels of investor confidence in our economy. as many of us are aware, a stable macroeconomic environment is one of the critical ingredients for achieving sustainable economic growth and, ultimately, poverty reduction, in our country. in this regard, allow me to reiterate what i have been saying at other fora that the insurance industry plays a critical role in the economic growth and development of any country. here in zambia, the insurance industry, with gross annual premiums of approximately k273 billion for life and non - life business, and about k550 billion for pensions, controls colossal sums of money which could be used for investment locally ; and if properly regulated could contribute to developing a strong financial sector in zambia. however, the problem has been that the insurance industry has been under - regulated for many years. in this respect, it is high time that regulations are put in place to harmonise the operations of this important industry. i have several times been told that the insurance act of 1997 is inadequate in many areas