can hardly be over - emphasised. this is even more pronounced given the recent electricity outages experienced across the country and floods that have ravaged some parts of zambia. chairperson, it is also pleasing to note that, in the recent past, there has been recognition of the need to adopt economic and structural reforms in most african countries and some benefits are already evident in this regard. inflation rates have been falling in most countries and they have registered appreciable expansion in economic activities with gdp growth rates averaging at about 5 % in 2007. in addition, most countries have become more democratic in political circles, giving more say to the public on the running of governments and their institutions. distinguished participants, allow me now to turn to the subject we are gathered here for, that is, “ central bank governance ”. good corporate governance is generally acknowledged as important in economic management. in this regard, central bank governance is arguably defined by a number of key - concepts or pillars, which together should form the basis of an effective legal framework governing a central bank and on which central bank governance should rest, that is, operational independence, democratic accountability and transparency. despite its common usage, it is not always very clear what central bank transparency amounts to. generally, two definitions of transparency can be distinguished in the policyoriented literature. firstly, central bank transparency is referred to as the activities of the central bank in providing information. thus, in this case, transparency has been defined as the degree to which information on policy actions is available. however, a somewhat broader approach to transparency includes the public ’ s understanding of the decisions taken by the monetary authorities and the reasoning behind it. ladies and gentlemen, the mere fact that a central bank has to conduct monetary policy in a transparent manner at best results in the availability of the information necessary in order to judge the bank ’ s performance. discussions of this information are not only done by the government but also most importantly, the public at large. the latter ’ s perception of what the central bank does and how it is done may have an impact on the central bank performance. furthermore, mr. chairman, our contribution therefore should set out to develop the pillars on which central bank governance must rest. these include operational independence, accountability and indeed transparency which are complementary. yet, certain tensions between these elements of governance cannot be ignored and have to be observed when establishing a code of good governance. with respect to operational independence, there seems to be consensus among academics and central bankers that central banks must

caroline abel : closing remarks - incoming chairperson of the african financial inclusion policy initiative vote of thanks and closing remarks by ms caroline abel, governor of central bank of seychelles, at the 10th african financial inclusion policy initiative ( afpi ) meetings and leaders roundtable, arusha, 23 june 2022. * * * professor florens luoga, outgoing chairperson and governor of the bank of tanzania ; dr. alfred hannig, executive director of the alliance for financial inclusion ; governors and deputy governors ; ladies and gentleman ; good afternoon. i am honoured to address you once again as we end this year's afpi leaders roundtable, which concludes four days of intensive, engaging and fruitful discussions on a subject deemed important for our respective countries and the region. financial inclusion - more importantly, digital financial inclusion - as a key driver of economic growth and stability cannot be overemphasised. and i am sure that the engagements throughout this week have reaffirmed our resolve and increased our commitment to pursue this objective. while the digitalisation of our economies was already underway, the nature of the covid - 19 pandemic has undoubtedly propelled the acceleration of our digital transformation efforts, finding some of us ready for this new reality and signalling a reality check for others. over the past four days, we have had the opportunity to take stock of the progress made and identify further actions needed to achieve our objectives amidst an everevolving financial landscape and economic environment. it has been refreshing to learn about what is happening across the continent – from the innovative regulatory and supervisory solutions to the electronic kyc and digital identity innovations that some of our members are implementing to advance financial inclusion. i am aware that links have been established amongst members present for further peer learning going forward, as we have drawn inspiration from the success stories that have been shared, of how the digital transformation is creating opportunities and bringing numerous benefits for the various groups within our economies. these endeavours surely present us with the opportunity to renew our commitment to work on overcoming the challenges and barriers that still exist to ensure that no one is left behind. we have had prolonged discussions on numerous topics, but i believe we can all agree that a key takeaway is that it is not enough to simply make digital financial services and products available. they need to be convenient, fast, affordable, reliable and safe. they 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches need to be tailored to meet the needs of the various segments of our society, from individuals