law. law enforcement agencies are overwhelmed by the sheer size and sophistication that criminals are now employing to perpetrate their illegal deeds. the efforts on crime prevention are now compounded by globalization that has created what one may say is a global economy in which organized crime groups and individuals can and do generate huge sums of money. money laundering is therefore a global problem which requires a concerted global response. in order to protect our respective financial systems from the destabilizing effects of crime and money laundering, it is imperative that we act and respond to this scourge with unmatched resolve and commitment to combating it. everybody has, therefore, a responsibility to combat money laundering, because its negative impact has a unique way of creating far ranging negative consequences. the financial sector, in particular the banking sector, more than any sectors, needs to operate in a crime and money laundering free environments. we all know that banks deal with other people ’ s money and therefore rely heavily on reputation for integrity. without the public confidence from the law abiding citizenry it would be difficult for financial institutions to conduct business in the form they do now. it is also conceivable that money laundering, if perpetrated on a high scale, would complicate the ability of financial institutions to manage their operations and risks. another consequence of money laundering on a grand scale is that it may erode the effectiveness and management of monetary policy, because of its potential of changing the demand for cash in the economy. money laundering is also bad for the economy and development in that it undermines legitimate business, competition and reduces the tax revenue to national authorities as launderers would be operating underground outside the tax net. the combating of money laundering presupposes the existence of capacity and resources at national level. in many of developing countries, this is a real challenge in that there are competing demands with regards to the utilization of scarce resources. the scarcity of resources is more critical in the law enforcement spheres, since most national jurisdictions have less than efficient law enforcement agencies which are in most cases overwhelmed by the demands to enforce other national laws. in conclusion, i would like to urge members of the public to look out for information on combating money laundering, starting next week. i look forward to everyone ’ s participation in effectively combating money laundering. i thank you for your attention.

a prominent component of this second approach is the design and implementation of self - employment and wage employment programmes targeted at the poor to improve their conditions of living to explicitly defined levels. this strategy recognizes the fact that wage employment policies are the most desired instrument to provide basic consumption needs of the poor mainly because of its self - targeting nature. a very prominent example of such interventions is the use of small and medium size enterprises ( smmes ) to reduce poverty. the world bank and other multilateral development agencies have long recognized the importance of targeted assistance to smmes in accelerating growth, promoting economic development and reducing poverty in their interventions in developing countries. the mainstay of this pro - smme policy is threefold. first, smmes enhance competition and entrepreneurship and hence have spillover effects on innovation, efficiency and productivity growth. second, smmes are generally held to be more productive than large firms although financial markets and other institutional failures could impede their development. thirdly, expansion of smmes could boost employment more effectively than large firms because they tend to be more labour intensive. from this perspective government intervention to subsidize smmes could help to alleviate poverty. although some of these arguments in support of smmes have not been substantially proven, available empirical evidence especially from developed countries tends to support these basic tenets. a recent survey of oecd countries1 showed that smmes account for a large share of the private sector see oecd small and medium enterprise outlook ( 2002 ). economy representing between 96 and 99 per cent of the total number of enterprises in these economies. microenterprises ( 0 - 9 employees ) account for between 70 per cent and 90 per cent while small firms ( 0 to 49 employees ) constitute at least 95 per cent of the total. only 0. 5 per cent of enterprises in the manufacturing sector employ more than 500 in oecd countries. it should not be a surprise therefore that smmes are responsible for the vast majority of new businesses. the report further revealed that smmes account for a significant share of output in oecd countries. in the united states for instance, they account for about 40 per cent of total economic activity. about 17 per cent of manufacturing output comes from smmes in oecd countries. in korea and japan, policy makers look up to the smme sector to reinvigorate the national economy. smmes also make an important contribution to overall employment, accounting for 60 - 70 per cent of the manufacturing total in