caleb m fundanga : strengthening the zambian financial services industry through education speech by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the zambia institute of banking and financial services 8th graduation ceremony, lusaka, 21 february 2009. * * * • the president, zambia institute of banking and financial services, mr. david chewe ; • distinguished council members ; • the chairman, bankers association of zambia, mr saviour chibiya ; • chief executives of banks and financial institutions present ; • representatives from other learning institutions ; • distinguished parents ; • graduates ; • distinguished invited guests ; • ladies and gentlemen it is an honour and privilege for me to officiate at this 8th graduation ceremony of the zambia institute of banking and financial services. there is nothing more pleasing than witnessing young men and women climbing the ladder of success in life. mr president, as we speak, our economy is facing numerous challenges emanating from the global financial turmoil. as you are no doubt aware, the crisis has already resulted in a reduction in commodity prices including that of copper our main foreign exchange earner. the zambian foreign exchange market has also been adversely affected as is reflected in the volatility and weakening of the kwacha exchange rate in the recent past. the result of all this is lower government revenues and more expensive imports which would in turn culminate in higher inflation. however, our situation is by no means unique, and both the emerging, and more developed economies have felt the effects of what has turned out to be a global recession. the challenges presented to our economy in general and the financial sector in particular, brings to the fore the critical role that the zambia institute of banking & financial services is expected to play in equipping young men and women with the much needed capacity to strengthen the financial services industry. we shall no doubt be confronted with such and many more similar challenges as we strive to achieve economic growth and poverty reduction in our country. ladies and gentlemen, in order to be well prepared for such trying times ahead, we need to groom our best talents to assume leadership positions in all sectors of the economy especially in the financial sector. to achieve this vital task of nurturing our future leaders, the government is trying its level best to provide education to all zambians. however, providing support to education for the benefit of all citizens is never an easy task. it is for this reason that the government recently classified education and health as economic sectors. this entails

the resources now at our disposal. throughout this period we have tried always to learn from best practice internationally and to take advantage of our membership of the european supervisory authorities. during the panel on banking later this morning i will say something about our expanding engagement with the european institutions and the lead - in to the irish presidency of the council of ministers, which gets under way in january 2013. let me now invite minister noonan to open our conference. bis central bankers ’ speeches