brian wynter : financial literacy for jamaica opening remarks by mr brian wynter, governor of the bank of jamaica, at the stakeholders ’ forum on financial literacy for jamaica, financial services commission in association with caribbean regional technical assistance centre ( cartac ), kingston, 18 august 2010. * * * honourable audley shaw, minister of finance and the public service ; senator basil waite, opposition spokesman on education ; honourable emil george, chairman of the fsc ; mr rohan barnett, executive director of the fsc ; keynote speaker dr adele atkinson, policy analyst, oecd financial affairs division ; panellists from canada, the eastern caribbean, trinidad & tobago, the united kingdom and jamaica ; ladies and gentlemen : it gives me great pleasure to participate this morning in the opening of the stakeholders ’ forum on financial literacy for jamaica organized by the financial services commission and the caribbean regional technical assistance centre. the bank of jamaica partnered with cartac and the fsc in january this year to launch cartac ’ s regional financial literacy programme website and public education programme at the jamaica conference centre. we are indeed pleased that today the process has moved one step further and we have gathered here to examine a proposal for a national financial literacy programme. this programme, aimed at formalising and coordinating an approach to achieving financial literacy throughout the length and breadth of the country, is timely. in fact, it may even be overdue. we have seen the successful implementation of a national financial literacy programme in trinidad & tobago and the maintenance of a similar 27 - year programme in new zealand. inflation has been trending down, the exchange rate has been stable in recent months and interest rates in general are declining. as the global economic recovery begins to take shape, jamaica must seek to expedite her own recovery through savings and investments ultimately to achieve strong growth and sustainable development. it is a financially literate people who can, in partnership with established and new institutions, enhance the social and economic development of a country. the proliferation of local ponzi schemes a few years ago is a recent reminder that in jamaica, like everywhere, people have an appetite for high returns on their investments. unless allied with prudence and caution, however, the appetite can lead to personal and social catastrophe. but prudence and caution are themselves easily overwhelmed except in the presence of knowledge and understanding. so, for example, an informed populace is less likely to make impulsive decisions on financial matters. through its website, its money museum, its many

caleb m fundanga : transparent pricing initiative in zambia remarks by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the official lunch of the transparent pricing initiative in zambia, lusaka, 6 june 2011. * * * the vice president, global programs microfinance transparency, ms alexandra fiorillo ; the president of the association of microfinance institutions of zambia ( amiz ), dr. george mulomboi ; executive secretary of association of microfinance institutions of zambia, mr webby mate ; chief executives and representatives of microfinance institutions ; colleagues from bank of zambia ; distinguished invited guests ; members of the press ; ladies and gentlemen i would like to thank microfinance transparency and the association of microfinance institutions of zambia for inviting me to officiate at this important workshop on transparent pricing. i also wish to welcome our visitors from outside the country. i hope you will enjoy the wonderful zambian weather. madam vice president, the importance of microfinance to an economy cannot be overemphasised. the provision of financial services to the majority of people and the small and medium enterprises who have traditionally been excluded from the formal banking sector is a key element to poverty reduction and economic development. mr president, as you are aware, in zambia, the recent finscope survey confirmed that levels of access to financial services continue to be low with only 37. 3 % of zambia ’ s adult population reported to have access to a financial services. the survey however showed that the number of people accessing microfinance was on the increase. the role that microfinance institutions play in financial inclusion is therefore very crucial. over the years, the microfinance institutions in zambia have played a significant part in the provision of financial services, particularly for low - income households. although access to finance remains low, microfinance institutions have had a somewhat positive impact on the economic activity of low income households, in both urban and rural areas. i am hopeful that the microfinance sector will continue to bridge the financing gap especially to the unserved population. however, the bank of zambia continues to receive a number of customer complaints on the high cost of micro loans in the country. it has been observed that the interest rates charged by some institutions exceeded 300 % per annum in some cases. furthermore, in most instances the effective rate of interest and other charges are not disclosed to the customers resulting in them paying much more that what was initially publicised to them.