caleb m fundanga : the role of professionals in economic development remarks by mr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the annual national development conference of the zambia institute for policy analysis and research, lusaka, 28 november 2009. * * * hon minister of finance and national planning, dr situmbeko musokotwane the permanent secretary budget and economic affairs, mr emmanuel ngulube zipar executive director a€ “ mwilola imakando distinguished guests, members of the press ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed a pleasure for me to be invited to this very important gathering to give a scope of the conference. the central theme of my address today is the role that professionals are expected to play in economic development in general and in the provision of public goods and services in particular. you will agree with me that the levels of professionalism in our country has somewhat declined in the recent past. nowadays, it is not rare to hear of corrupt practices and unethical conduct in the both the public and private sectors. this has no doubt compromised professionalism. ladies and gentlemen, as you are aware, professionalism entails possessing specialist knowledge and following a standard of conduct based on ethics that govern the use of this knowledge when providing a service to the public. professionals provide essential and valuable services to any society. it is for this reason that the public depend on them more and more as economies advance. therefore, professional status is an implied social contract to provide a service over and above normal duties. in this regard, a professional is viewed as one who carries additional moral responsibility and is honest, objective, impartial and with high integrity. mr chairman, the importance of a professional civil service in zambia cannot be overemphasised. if we are to succeed economically as well as socially, we need to demonstrate appropriate levels of professionalism. a professional is open to views of others and are objective and their decisions are made in the best interest of the country. as professional in zambia we need to evaluate our performance and aim to constantly improve. we need to see ourselves as part of the solution rather than the problem. further, it is important to realise that civil service is a key component of government as it supports the formulation and implementation of government policies and service delivery to the public. a professional civil service also ensures that government objectives and goals are achieved in an effective and efficient manner thus assuring confidence to the public. in order to carry out their duties, professionals need

michael gondwe : islamic commerce and finance opening remarks by dr michael gondwe, governor of the bank of zambia, at the workshop on “ islamic commerce and finance ”, lusaka, 24 march 2013. * * * the guest speakers, mufti shafiq jakhura and maulana bilal jakhura ; distinguished invited guests ; participants ; ladies and gentlemen ; on behalf of the bank of zambia and indeed on my own behalf, i would like to extend a very warm welcome to you all to this important workshop on islamic commerce and finance. to our guest speakers, mufti shafiq jakhura and maulana bilal jakhura, i wish to extend a special welcome to you to zambia and in particular to lusaka. ladies and gentlemen, the bank of zambia is honoured and delighted to be invited to give a keynote address at this workshop. this workshop on islamic commerce and finance could not have come at a more opportune time than now, when the bank of zambia has embraced financial inclusion on its policy agenda as a way of increasing access to appropriate financial products and services to all segments of society in zambia. ladies and gentlemen, islamic commerce and finance have expanded significantly in the last few decades globally both in terms of size and the number of players. for instance, islamic finance is currently practiced in more than 50 countries worldwide. in many countries, islamic finance co - exists with conventional finance and is not limited to muslim countries. distinguished participants, recent industry estimates indicate that islamic finance is set to continue growing at an annual rate of about 15 %. the increased trade between the subsaharan region and islamic nations in the middle east only reinforces our view that partnerships among the corporate players between the two regions will foster more developments in the area of islamic finance. ladies and gentlemen, the government of the republic of zambia ( grz ) recognizes that the limited access to financial services and low number of products available to the different sectors of the economy has hindered the development potential of zambia ’ s economy. there is need therefore, to revitalize the financial sector so that it meets the challenges of accelerated and sustained investments in key sectors of the economy. this can only be achieved where the financial system is able to improve its allocative efficiencies by providing appropriately designed products and services to all segments of the population like the muslim community. recent developments in the financial sector world - wide offer some encouragement that working together could extend the