survey. in addition, the bank undertakes inhouse policy research, procures technical assistance from various sources, including think tanks, and reaches out to other institutions for collaborative research. all this point to the fact that we, as an institution, have to continually build the requisite capacity, including in modelling and forecasting. for those participating in our surveys, we want to express our profound gratitude for their cooperation. i should hasten to add that under the new bank of zambia act it is a statutory requirement for respondents to provide information when the institution formally asks for it. ladies and gentlemen, in closing, let me comment on our regular engagements that we have with you, our stakeholders after each mpc meeting. we appreciate and value these engagements as they accord us an opportunity to explain our policy rate decisions. the ensuing interactions also help us to get the much - needed insights and feedback on your understanding and the implications of our decisions on the economy, which serve as important inputs into our future decision making process. with the publication of the mpr, we hope that you and other stakeholders will be better informed about monetary policy formulation and implementation in zambia. with these remarks, it is now my singular honour and privilege to officially launch the monetary policy report. thank you for your attention and god bless! 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches

caleb m fundanga : central bank independence – a zambian perspective opening remarks by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, to the symposium “ central bank independence : does it hurt the treasury? ”, livingstone, 12 - 13 november 2007. * * * the chairperson the guest of honour, the hon minister of finance and national planning the attorney general honourable minister of southern province honourable members of parliament present fellow central bank governors present his worship the mayor of the city of livingstone deputy central bank governors present senior treasury officials present the executive secretary of sadc members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of international organisations present distinguished invited guests ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the bank of zambia and indeed on my own behalf, i would like to extend a very warm welcome to you all to this important symposium entitled “ central bank independence : does it hurt the treasury? ” to our colleagues from outside zambia, i wish to extend a special welcome to you to zambia, in particular to livingstone, our tourist capital. like the rest of zambia, livingstone is a city of tranquility with an easygoing african charm. the city is not short of interesting sites and places to visit. it hosts the victoria falls, also known among the locals as “ mosi - o - tunya, the smoke that thunders ” and is one of the world ’ s seven wonders! there is also a game park, a well - stocked curio market and the mukuni cultural village, among the many attractions. i therefore urge you to find time or indeed stay an extra day or more to sample this special menu that livingstone can offer. ladies and gentlemen, this symposium comes at a time when the economic performance of our country has significantly strengthened as partly reflected in a 6. 2 % growth in real gdp and single digit inflation of 8. 2 % for 2006. during the month of october 2007 inflation edged downward to 9. 0 %. commercial banks ’ lending rates have also exhibited an investmentsupportive trend while the kwacha has relatively been stable. further, we have observed an improvement in the fiscal operations of the government, which is supportive of the country ’ s inflation and growth objectives. chairperson, despite these achievements, our country like so many other developing countries, still faces some challenges. notable among these is the urgent need to consolidate and build the gains so far attained. in particular, the need to attain sustained price and financial systems stability can hardly be overemphasized. chairperson, allow