position on devaluation. i believe that devaluation is not the answer given the nature of our problems on the export front. in my view, devaluation will only raise prices and is unlikely to help our balance of payments or raise economic growth. there is therefore no need for devaluation. fiji ’ s external reserves remain at comfortable levels. in fact, at the end of september, fiji ’ s reserves stood at $ 817 million, rising at the end of october to $ 840 million, which is equivalent to 3. 4 months of imports. the way forward i cannot conclude without saying something on the future economic scenario that we can look forward to. economic growth will continue in the next three years but at the same level as we have seen in the last five years. i therefore very much hope that the program of reform that the government has announced will be smartly implemented. i also hope that the national export strategy becomes a reality sooner rather than later. if we lift exports at least to their potential and accelerate reforms, we can look forward to a higher rate of growth in the next five years. let me add though that we cannot just keep on talking about these issues, or writing reports analysing the same problems that i have talked about today. we do not need new reports to tell us the same things that we already know. i have only three words on what we need to do now : implementation, implementation, implementation. however, right now the political uncertainty looms menacingly over everything else that we do. it is already damaging the only industry that has carried the nation so far. the ramifications of this political climate continuing are too dire. we pray for a speedy resolution. concluding remarks i conclude by saying : to my fellow sponsors : i would like to thank you for your support and look forward to your continuing assistance to small businesses. to the small business owners : very soon we will know the decisions of the judges for the various award categories. in my book you are all winners. you should all be proud both of your efforts and of your contribution to fiji ’ s economy. i wish you the very best tonight and every success with your business plans and ambitions in the future. thank you.

think about how we can further improve our efforts in combating money laundering. prosecuting money laundering is a key tool in combating money laundering and other crimes in fiji. let ’ s come back to the 4th annual money laundering conference next year with more positive stories to share and not have to revisit where we have been falling down! our anti - money laundering laws and the efforts by financial institutions, the police, fiu and other investigative agencies will be in vain if criminals are not being successfully prosecuted for money laundering. it will also be in vain if criminals are allowed to live off the profit of their illegal activities. so let us return to our workplaces with clear and definite goals of how we can apply the lessons learnt from today ’ s conference in our respective work areas. our collaborative efforts in investigating and prosecuting money laundering crimes will provide a strong message to criminals and their associates that “ crime does not pay. ” ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience and i now have the pleasure of formally closing the 2011 3rd national anti - money laundering conference. vinaka vakalevu bis central bankers ’ speeches