as people have been adapting to covid - 19, the economies have picked up, supported by the large - scale fiscal and monetary policy measures. in the u. s., where vaccinations have progressed and economic activity restarted ahead of other countries, it took only about a year for the economy to recover to the pre - pandemic level. economic expansion see the shibusawa eiichi memorial foundation website ( https : / / www. shibusawa. or. jp / english / ). has spread from the manufacturing sector to services, and the u. s. economy's high growth has been supporting the recovery in the global economy. on the back of this recovery, japan's economy has picked up, led by exports and the manufacturing sector. the recovery in the face - to - face services sector has been slower than in the u. s., partly due to the spread of the delta variant before the widespread vaccinations ( chart 2 ). that said, japan's fullyvaccinated rate has risen to the same level as that of the u. s. if japan can simultaneously protect public health and improve consumption activities through the use of vaccination certificates, for example, the economic recovery trend is very likely to become more pronounced, even in the services sector, also supported by the materialization of pent - up demand. the u. s. and japanese economies have followed a similar recovery path during the pandemic, albeit at slightly different paces. however, labor market dynamics have differed greatly between the two ( chart 3 ). in the u. s., reflecting a sharp drop in economic activity due to lockdowns, job cuts and layoffs spiked. as a result, the unemployment rate, which had been at around 3. 5 percent before the pandemic, surged to 14. 8 percent in april last year. although the employment situation subsequently turned positive as economic activity resumed, employment is slow to recover compared with gdp, and the unemployment rate is still above 5 percent. in contrast, in japan, the rise in the unemployment rate has been modest relative to the decline in economic activity. although the rate has increased from the pre - pandemic level of around 2. 5 percent, it remains low at around 3 percent. these different developments in the labor markets come from differences in employment practices of the two countries. in the u. s., employment adjustments are fast and firms therefore tend to promptly conduct

of a development agenda of future priorities and contextualise the future of payment system oversight. ladies and gentlemen, since the establishment of the ccbg a decade ago, methods of effecting payments and other financial transactions have quickly become sophisticated with a trend towards execution in real time electronic media. all this is taking place because consumer confidence is growing in these instruments and mechanisms, which have been supported by growing confidence in sadc member countries ’ economies in general and stability of the national financial systems in particular. it is therefore the expectation of the bank of zambia that this conference will discuss this trend and its implications, particularly with regard to limited accessibility to technology and technicalknow how of consumers in sadc member countries. other themes i am sure you will deliberate upon include confidentially of financial information, money laundering and terrorist financing. effective payment system oversight needs to be promoted so that public confidence in the safety and soundness of the national payment systems is maintained. understandably, this is a new area and in most member countries work is still exploratory. i therefore urge you all to double your efforts in this regard and deliver on this very important central bank responsibility. ladies and gentlemen, another new area is that of mobile phone enabled payment services. this development has a huge potential to help the sadc region leap frog a number of financial sector development challenges particularly those related to improving access and availability of financial services. this is because mobile phone based services, particularly those focused on low - value payments where swift and convenient service is the primary goal could be a practical solution for sadc member countries. the challenge therefore is how well we all respond without damaging this sprouting and potentially cost - effective delivery channel for financial services, which can be damaged with over regulation or lack of mitigation for the risks its poses. ladies and gentlemen, i wish to conclude by reminding all delegates that it is my hope that at the end of the conference all of you will have obtained a better understanding of payment systems best practice. equally important you will also have obtained a clearer view of the purpose of payment systems within a developmental context and the need for concerted efforts in balancing our responses in a manner that is supportive of the objective of attaining economic inclusion and growth, regional economic co - operation and integration. with these remarks, i declare the conference officially open and wish you successful deliberations. i thank you.