a lot of capacity gaps will need to be filled if member countries must conduct monetary and fiscal policies at the cutting edge of best practices. an articulation of the gaps is therefore in order. • capacity for analysis of monetary survey staff in monetary and fiscal policy departments must be familiar with the intricacies of monetary survey – a consolidation of both the balance sheets of central banks and deposit money banks. the monetary aggregates are summarized in the assets and liabilities sides of the survey. the financial database for liquidity forecasting is contained in the monetary survey. • training in macroeconomic relationships the staff of the relevant departments of central bank and ministries of finance and national planning commission should be familiar with macroeconomic relationships and financial programming. to this end, an advantage should be taken of waifem / imf annual courses in financial programming. • training in econometric modelling and forecasting familiarity with econometric methodology is critical to effective conduct of liquidity forecasting for sound monetary policy. again waifem ’ s courses in econometric modelling and forecasting is a welcome initiative to bridge capacity gaps. • understanding the macroeconomy finally, liquidity forecasting cannot be effectively done without sufficient understanding of the macroeconomy, stance of demand management policies and outlook for the future. all this constitutes the environment in which forecasting takes place. 4. 0 conclusion in this address, i have sought to sensitize you about some of the critical issues in liquidity forecasting. i believe that the expert faculty placed at your disposal, will give you an exhaustive treatment of the subject matter. at this juncture, permit me to express our sincere appreciation to messrs simon gray and tony smith of the centre for central banking studies of the bank of england and the uk treasury department, respectively for taking up our call to facilitate this course. i would like to take the liberty to invite you to avail yourselves of this opportunity provided by this course. once more i enjoin you to feel at home here in freetown and enjoy the warmth and hospitality of our people. on this note, it is my singular honour and privilege to declare open the regional course on liquidity forecasting for monetary and fiscal management. i thank you for your attention.

james d rogers : liquidity forecasting for monetary and fiscal management in west africa keynote address by dr james d rogers, governor of the bank of sierra leone, at the opening ceremony of the regional course on liquidity forecasting for monetary and fiscal management, organised by waifem, bank of england and uk treasury department, freetown, 17 april 2007. * * * director general of waifem, dr. chris o. itsede, distinguished facilitators from the bank of england and the united kingdom treasury department, distinguished course participants, ladies and gentlemen. 1. 0 introduction on behalf of the president, his excellency, ahaji dr. ahmed tejan kabbah, the government and people of the republic of sierra leone, it is indeed a pleasure to welcome you all to freetown on the occasion of the regional course on liquidity forecasting for monetary and fiscal management jointly organized by waifem, the bank of england and the united kingdom ( uk ) treasury department. l invite you to take some time off your crowded programme to visit tourist attractions and appreciate the recovery the country has achieved since the ruins of the civil war. the smiles are back on the faces of sierra leoneans, and visitors now have the peace of mind to savour the beautiful scenery of freetown. on behalf of the board of governors, i wish to register our profound gratitude to the centre for central banking studies of the bank of england and the uk treasury department for collaborating with waifem to build capacity for macroeconomic management in the west african sub - region. our particular thanks go to messrs. simon gray and tony smith, who represent these collaborating institutions at this course, for taking time off their busy schedules to share their wealth of knowledge and experience with us. 2. 0 the need for liquidity forecasting this course could not have come at a more auspicious time than now when all the countries in the west african sub - region are operating the indirect approach to monetary management and for that purpose most have instituted monetary policy committees ( mpcs ). mpcs bring together the major stakeholders in monetary and fiscal management with responsibility, among other things, to derive the quantum of liquidity for mop up from, or injection into, the economy through open market operations ( omo ). the overriding objective has been to keep inflation at low and stable level. in recognition of those objectives this course augurs well in filling the capacity gaps in liquidity forecasting