reserve bank of malawi remarks by dalitso kabambe, phd governor at the inaugural financial inclusion indaba and launch of the national strategy for financial inclusion at bingu international conference centre ( bicc ) lilongwe 27 july, 2017 the secretary to the treasury, mr. ben botolo ; senior private sector development economist, world bank country office, mr e chilima ; the deputy governor, economics and regulation, reserve bank of malawi, dr grant kabango ; representatives of all development partners here present ; representatives of finmark trust ; senior government officials here present ; chief executive officers and representatives of financial institutions ; representatives of non - governmental and civil society organizations here present ; distinguished guests ; ladies and gentlemen : i am delighted to be part of this indaba where the country ’ s strategy for financial inclusion for the period 2016 to 2020 is being launched. firstly, i wish to agree with other speakers that this meeting could never have taken place at such an opportune time other than this. our country has just weathered off some of the major shocks of our time. first was the historic devaluation in 2012, then cashgate in 2013 which led to withdrawal of general budget support and then the effects of climate change in 2015 and 2016. as a result of these shocks, inflation persistently remained high over the years, interest rates were also high, kwacha was volatile and public debt soared. however, the malawi economy has now weathered off these shocks. the economy is now steadily recovering. inflation, at 11. 3 percent is now the lowest in 7 years, and is expected to be in single digit very soon, kwacha has been stable for the past 15 months and is expected to remain so. foreign exchange reserves are at 3. 3 months of imports and are expected to remain above 3 months of imports. lending rates are now on a downward trajectory and growth which was subdued in the previous years is expected to rebound to 4. 5 percent or higher this year. these are all hallmarks of a recovering economy. the indaba therefore is coming at such an opportune time that we can discuss how we can consolidate these gains going forward and deepening of financial inclusions is one such option to support the needs of a growing economy. the case for financial inclusion can never be over emphasized. the country has many people who are not yet reached with financial services. the strategy being launched today therefore highlights what can be done to ensure that all malawians regardless of their geographical disposition

victor mbewe : committee of sadc stock exchanges speech by mr victor mbewe, governor of the reserve bank of malawi, at the opening of the committee of sadc stock exchanges ( cosse ) 2008 first meeting, lilongwe, 31 january 2008. * * * the chairman of the committee of sadc stock exchanges ; delegates to the meeting ; distinguished ladies and gentlemen. i welcome all participants to this meeting, aware that some of you are visiting malawi, the warm heart of africa for the first time. i wish you all a pleasant stay. allow me to start by mentioning that we are privileged to host this meeting as it helps us all to take stock of how far we have recently moved towards creating a common market in southern africa. progress toward integration of capital markets on a regional basis will help spur accelerated economic integration goals in other areas. the harmonization of stock market regulations and trading practices that would accompany any regionalization of exchanges could deepen regional integration more broadly in policy areas such as foreign exchange, taxation, accounting standards, corporate governance and legal practices. i am aware that sadc exchanges have been working toward adopting a common framework for clearing and settlement. among other options under consideration are the establishment of a linked network of individual central depository systems tailored to the specific needs of member exchanges. i hope that the committee of sadc stock exchanges is also drawing up common standards for all stockbrokers operating in the sadc region. this would enable brokers based in one sadc member state to establish a presence in any other member state. regulation and surveillance of national exchanges ultimately will be carried out on a regional level. i hope that national exchanges will formalise the practice of regular reporting on your national surveillance and regulations. the exchange of information on national surveillance policies and practices will be used to devise a harmonised system of surveillance and regulation for the sadc region. the committee of sadc stock exchanges should also aim to develop the region ’ s bond as well as other securities markets, and you must continue encouraging national authorities to actively issue government securities on the region ’ s exchanges. there is broad agreement that foreign exchange control, regulatory and tax frameworks must also be harmonized before financial markets can actually link up. more specifically, this would involve harmonizing not only stock market regulations, listing requirements, and trading, clearing, and settlement procedures, but also transaction fees, accounting standards, corporate governance standards, disclosure requirements, common standards for stockbrokers, and national rules for capital