at the bottom of the pile. we are less than half of australia. mauritius ’ productivity growth rate is four times higher. i am sure that the figures for asia will be higher still. does it therefore surprise us that our long term growth trend is below 2 percent? how can we improve our productivity? not only that, how can we measure our progress over time? we refer to our culture, the low capital to labor ratio, technology, migration and skills as possible constraints to productivity. these are relevant. but how are we overcoming them? how are we sharing and learning from each other ’ s experiences outside these forums? i suggest that we should all go away from this symposium with a piece of paper with three assignments on it : • one, measure the productivity in your organisation, company agency or wherever you are within the next month. use whatever indicator you wish ; • two, appoint productivity champions that can drive productivity growth in your company ; and • three, measure the productivity again in six months and share your experiences with everyone before the next productivity symposium. if we can all do that, then we will progress. finally, raising fiji ’ s competitiveness is not solely tpaf ’ s responsibility, nor is it the government ’ s alone. everyone one of us in this room must take it as personal goal to raise fiji ’ s competitiveness. thank you.

ariff ali : presentation on the national payment systems bill 2020 presentation by mr ariff ali, governor of the reserve bank of fiji, to the parliamentary standing committee on justice, law and human rights on the national payment systems bill 2020, 22 january 2021. * * * salutation honourable chairperson ; deputy chairperson ; and members of the parliamentary standing committee on justice, law and human rights. a very good morning to you all. please allow me to firstly extend my appreciation to the committee for this opportunity to present the national payment systems ( nps ) bill and hopefully respond to any related queries or clarifications that you may have. introduction honourable chair and members, for several years now the reserve bank of fiji ( rbf ) has been working to reform fiji ’ s payment system in alignment with international best practises. the reform requires both a supportive and forward - looking payment system legislation that will provide an enabling and guiding framework to create a transparent and level playing field and support our move towards a less - cash or cash - reduced society with innovative digital payment solutions. this bill promotes interoperability, enhanced connectivity, the protection of stakeholders and ultimately aims to reduce costs to consumers. the absence of such a framework could potentially allow unregulated and unaccountable operators to enter and operate payment systems within the country, which could threaten the safety of our consumers and the stability of our financial system. the nps bill not only offers fiji this protection but encourages innovation and the development of payment solutions that will encourage commerce, industry and economic growth. honourable members, i wish to provide context to this reform by firstly defining what a payment and national payment system is. what is a national payment system? at the most basic level, a payment system is defined as any system used to settle financial transactions through the transfer of monetary value. at the aggregate and macro level, the national payment system constitutes the complete ecosystem relating to the initiation and settlement of financial transactions in the country. it refers to the entire matrix of institutional and infrastructure arrangements, including systems for the payment, settlement and clearing of transactions. the bank of international settlements, an international financial institution and payments standard - setting body notes that a national payment system forms an integral part of an economy ’ s financial system and comprises a number of distinct components including payment instruments, infrastructure, financial institutions, market arrangements and the supporting legal environment. as i have alluded to earlier, the objective of a payments systems is to connect economic actors ( individuals, governments