njuguna ndung ’ u : mefmi fellows department programme speech by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya and chairman of the mefmi executive committee, during the 2007 mefmi fellows graduation & accreditation ceremony, harare, 31 july 2007. * * * your excellencies, governor reserve bank of zimbabwe, dr. gideon gono, executive director of mefmi, dr. ellias ngalande, distinguished invited guests, graduated and accredited fellows, ladies and gentlemen, 1. it is indeed a great honour and privilege for me to be here and witness this memorable occasion as we confer mefmi fellows in recognition of their hard work. congratulations to you all the graduated and accredited fellows! this occasion is especially memorable because of the presence of our distinguished guests ; the financial cooperating partners. your excellencies once more, you are very welcome to the mefmi family. ladies and gentlemen : allow me, on behalf of the board and indeed on my own behalf, to thank you for accepting to come to bear testimony to one of the significant outputs of mefmi. let me assure you of mefmi ’ s commitment in pursuing its objectives and ideals of building sustainable capacity in the region as affirmed by its leadership. i wish also to acknowledge the great hospitality the institute continues to receive from the governor of the reserve bank of zimbabwe, dr. gideon gono that enables us to convene effectively in harare. your presence here today, honourable governor, further demonstrates the very commitment you have for the intended success of mefmi. 2. ladies and gentlemen : mefmi fellows development programme was conceived as a flagship to address the capacity needs of the region in terms of the development of local and regional expertise. specifically the programme was set up to meet the following objectives : ( i ) to develop a critical mass of regional expertise in the priority areas of sovereign debt, macroeconomic and financial management, as a means to gaining sustainable and self - generating capacity ; ( ii ) to create sustainable regional capacity for delivery of mefmi capacity building products and services to answer the concerns about sustainability of the institute ’ s activities ; and ( iii ) to create regional capacity for complementing mefmi ’ s capacity building efforts at in - house level in mefmi member states ’ institutions. the fellows who have graduated today have gone through an intensive programme of customized training, professional exposure to renowned institutions

significant challenge in the years ahead. finally, the pressure to enlarge the pool of skilled workers also means that we must strengthen the significant contributions of other types of training and educational programs, especially for those with lesser skills. it is not enough to create a job market that has enabled those with few skills to finally grasp the first rung of the ladder to achievement. more generally, we must ensure that our whole population receives an education that will allow full and continuing participation in this dynamic period of american economic history. we need to foster a flexible education system - one that integrates work and training and that serves the needs both of experienced workers at different stages in their careers and of students embarking on their initial course of study. community colleges, for example, have become important providers of job skills training not just for students who may eventually move on to a four - year college or university but for individuals with jobs - particularly older workers seeking to retool or retrain. the increasing availability of courses that can be “ taken at a distance ” over the internet means that learning can more easily occur outside the workplace or the classroom - an innovation that may be particularly valuable for states with large rural populations for whom access to traditional classroom learning is more difficult. in summary, we are in a period of rapid innovation that is bringing with it enormous opportunities to enhance living standards for a large majority of americans. our ability to take advantage of these opportunities is not only influenced by national policies but is also determined importantly at the state level. states with more flexible labor markets, skilled work forces and a reputation for supporting innovation and entrepreneurship will be prime locations for firms at the cutting edge of technology. not all new enterprises will succeed, of course. but many will, and those that do will provide the impetus for further economic progress and expanding opportunities in their communities. your leadership as policymakers will be a key element in promoting an environment in which you join with others in business, labor and education to realize the potential that technological change has for bringing substantial and lasting benefits to our economy.