is channeled namely, financial service providers, most of whom are participating in this exhibition. no matter what kind of financing, be it government, donor or private financing, it is channeled through our financial institutions. as earlier stated, the main reason this exhibition is being held is to showcase how our financial institutions are contributing to financing for gender equality. i also hope that the exhibition will encourage increased access to financial services by not only women but also men from all walks of life. ladies and gentlemen, the 2005 finscope survey undertaken by finmark trust confirmed that levels of access to financial services in zambia are extremely low. fewer than 15 % of adult zambians are reported to have had access to commercial banks. of the 15 %, the majority were men. therefore more needs to be done to enable women have increased access to financial services. this is why one of the strategic objectives of the bank of zambia in its 2008 - 2011 strategic plan is to promote financial inclusion. the more financial services are extended to ordinary citizens and small business enterprises, the more there will be a greater proportion of women amongst those receiving these services. we should note that it is women who have special needs in terms of access to financial services. in small businesses, such as small scale farming and market trading, it is very important to have a safe place to save money, maintain working capital and also access loan facilities. ladies and gentlemen, as we discuss financing for gender equality, there are fundamental questions we need to ask ourselves such as : • are services available from a financial service provider more to the advantage of men, rather than women? • are men ’ s interests served more than women ’ s? • do financial service providers enable women to overcome discrimination against them in their economic life? i believe these questions will be answered positively by the institutions present here. ladies and gentlemen, i am happy to inform you that among the products on exhibition here, we have finance building society marketing loans without collateral. this is a very welcome development as one of the challenges to women accessing finance is the requirement for collateral which most do not have. we also have the united nations country office with all their respective agencies participating in this exhibition to show case how they are supporting women in this country. we appreciate your collaboration with us in this exhibition. the environmental council of zambia has also joined with the financial institutions to increase our awareness on environmental issues and thus promote sustainable development. distinguished ladies and gentlemen, i believe the next two days will be very inform

of workshops, marked the end of phase i of the implementation programme of the risk management framework at the bank. following the end of the risk sensitization workshops the next stage required the implementation of the framework in the business areas. as mentioned earlier, the bank faced a number of teething problems in the implementation process of the first stages of the framework with departments having some difficulties in following written guidance that was being given by the risk management department. as one of the possible solutions to this, senior management agreed to the risk management department ’ s suggestion that phase ii of the risk management framework implementation process also be effected through workshops, targeting the risk liaison officers who are, by definition, the critical anchors of the approved risk management framework. this background therefore justifies the gathering that we have here today. ladies and gentlemen : your group, as risk liaison officers, alternates and risk coordinating officers, occupies and a plays a very important role in the governance structure of the risk management framework. you may wish to note that your group plays a function of a “ critical link ” between staff from your respective departments and the head of department who is, by definition, the risk manager. for this reason, the importance of your responsibilities should be very clear and need not be overemphasized. for those who might have forgotten their roles, i wish to encourage you to re - familiarize yourselves with the risk management and business continuity management ( bcm ) policies, where your respective responsibilities are clearly spelt out. having said this, the workshop you are attending today and tomorrow has the following key objectives : i. to explain the practical aspects of “ context establishment ” and the “ risk identification ” processes so as to ensure that you fully understand these initial, but critical steps, in the risk management process so as to enable you to assist your respective departments to complete these important stages of the process ; and ii. to remind you of your role and responsibilities, as risk liaison officers, alternates and risk coordinating officers, in the risk management framework. ladies and gentlemen : allow me to reiterate what i said during the risk sensitization workshops – the success of the bank of zambia risk management framework will in a large measure depend on how well this process will be understood and how well its implementation at departmental level will be facilitated by you. as risk liaison officers, alternates and risk coordinating officers for your respective departments, you will be expected to not only provide leadership and guidance to your respective departments on risk