financial sector supervisors endeavour to regularly review and amend, where necessary, those provisions of the law that can impede effective access to finance. the immediate regulatory issues are the provisions relating to the sharing of customer creditworthiness information, both positive and negative data, know your customer requirements and the anti - money laundering and combatting of the financing of terrorism protocols. the banking act confidentiality provisions are also being reviewed to allow for the sharing of customer creditworthiness information and to facilitate the establishment of credit bureaux. as regards the anti - money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism measures, much as both the financial intelligence agency and the bank of botswana subscribe to a risk - based approach and seek to avoid undue regulatory burden, it is equally important to safeguard the integrity and overall stability of the country financial system by implementing and adhering to the international standards on aml - cft matters. moreover, there is need to guard against the impact of de - risking and loss of correspondent banking relationships that could be detrimental to trade, procurement, financing and payments arrangements. distinguished guests, the bank of botswana, as a primary partner in the evolution of the financial landscape, is committed to ensuring that there exists an enabling environment for enhanced financial inclusion of the unbanked members of our society. for the bank, greater financial inclusion enhances the potency of its policies and functions. in particular, given that monetary policy is transmitted by the financial sector, it has a greater and wider effect when a greater part of the population and businesses use financial services and products. for example, an individual or business that use the financial system to save or borrow is affected by a change in interest rates ; therefore, their reactions in that regard, collectively affects the rate of increase in prices and economic activity. it is, therefore, notable that the key mandates of the bank collectively relate to protecting the intrinsic value of the national currency ; and that achievement of the bank ’ s objectives promotes financial inclusion, literacy and capability. in particular, the bank has responsibility for issuance of good quality banknotes and coin, while pursuing stability with respect to domestic prices, the exchange rate and the financial sector. to the extent that these objectives are met, the bank helps to minimise erosion of the purchasing power of the currency, while ensuring that it remains integral to storage of value, monetary valuations, means of payment, and access to foreign currencies as needed, as well as credibility of the domestic financial system. in the horizon

well as policy output dedicated to the economic diversification efforts, the narrow economic base persists, with limited success on economic diversification. this will require development of the non - tradeable sector and address gaps in the quality of the regulatory frameworks, human capital competitiveness. and innovation to boost global the third aspect relates to prospective transition to structural fiscal and balance of payments deficits and the consequent decline of the official foreign exchange reserves. in this regard, and with an eye on slowing the depletion of external and fiscal buffers, there is need to enhance domestic resource mobilisation, by broadening the tax base, increase the progressivity of the personal income tax, streamlining and rationalisation of distortionary subsidies and vat exemptions. furthermore, and with the right governance architecture, there is considerable scope for enhanced and more optimal domestic borrowing programme to tap into resources accumulated by the retirement funds, annuity providers infrastructure and financing other and institutional increasing the funds for productive capacity of the economy. having said the above, i am not inviting you, the media, to discuss with the bank fiscal policy options ; this is the preserve of elected government, and, in this regard, led by the ministry of finance and economic development. however, i can say, without risking any transgression into the fiscal policy space that, subject to the effectiveness of the policy responses and the success of the transformation agenda, the issues i outlined above have the potential to undermine the resilience of the economy to any future economic shocks including the effects of climate change, prolonged droughts and water scarcity, as well as erosion of macroeconomic policy discretion hitherto provided by strong fiscal and external buffers. it is, therefore, important to reinforce the focus on the vision 2036 aspirations to achieve high - income status and inclusive diversified growth. the thrust required is to galvanise efforts towards structural and economic transformation as well as harnessing opportunities enabled by the fourth industrial revolution by upscaling investment on digital infrastructure, adoption of ict and digital skills. global competitiveness reports suggest that botswana lags peer countries in this regard. this speaks to the need for accelerated digital transformation and pace of egovernment agenda to increase efficiency, the result of which should be easing of policy implementation constraints and focusing resources on more impactful programmes. comparative country studies and experiences suggest that deliberate promotion of large - scale industries and dedicated implementation of industrialisation policies would be instrumental to successful escape from the middle - income trap