njuguna ndung ’ u : strategic human resource management and development in the mefmi region remarks by prof njuguna ndung ’ u, governor of the central bank of kenya, at the official opening of the mefmi ( the macroeconomic and financial management institute for southern and eastern africa ) human resources workshop, nairobi, 3 march 2014. * * * the mefmi executive director, dr. ellias ngalande ; resource persons ; distinguished participants ; ladies and gentlemen ; it gives me great pleasure to officiate at the opening of this important workshop for human resource officials of the mefmi region. may i take this opportunity at the outset to extend a warm welcome to you all to nairobi and the republic of kenya. i extend a special welcome to our first time visitors to kenya. kenya is certainly an interesting country which you will discover despite being here for a short period. i have to assure you that kenya as a hosting country for this event feels greatly honored because of your presence having travelled long distances to come here. this only goes to confirm one aspect, that the membership of mefmi is like one family and visits of this nature help to cement relationships among the peers. indeed, i am told that this is the first time that mefmi is holding a workshop for heads of human resources in kenya. on a very important note, the timing of this workshop is also critical, as it comes in the third year of mefmi phase iv. as the executive director alluded to earlier in his remarks, mefmi is implementing the phase iv strategic plan that runs from 2012 to 2016. please take time to understand and appreciate the progress that mefmi has made in implementing phase iv, during dr. ngalande ’ s presentation later in this workshop. however, i wish to add from my perspective that since its foundation in the 1990s, mefmi has grown into a network institution that plays an invaluable role in enhancing public sector capacity in eastern and southern africa. kenya was a founder member of mefmi ’ s forerunner esaidarm in 1993 and has continued to benefit in all aspects of capacity building. many officials in the central bank, the national treasury, ministry of devolution and planning and other related institutions have had an opportunity to improve their technical skills through participation in various programmes delivered by mefmi within the region. a number of technical missions have also been undertaken by mefmi following our requests

other forms of backstops, like the imf ’ s flexible credit line, is highly advisable. also, the public and private sectors should pursue proactive debt management strategies, avoiding bunching of maturities, lengthening durations, and keeping an eye on foreign exchange rate mismatches. third pillar. promote economic growth by making the economy more competitive, increasing total factor productivity and thus potential gdp growth. this takes us down the road of structural reforms, which have huge potential in emes. this is the hard way to achieve sustainable gdp growth, but is the only reliable one that is left. so, in summary, the first and second pillars are meant to guarantee financial stability, not necessarily inhibiting economic growth. the real lever for promoting growth lies in the third pillar. as the saying goes : plan for the worst, hope for the best. let me conclude by saying that i am an optimist, even though my remarks might not project that. as you know, we central bankers, by design, are overly cautious, and we are “ worriers ”. all things considered, emes have sailed through the global financial crisis relatively well, notwithstanding the bumpiness in the ride. required policy responses have been implemented on a timely basis in most cases, and the underlying fundamentals are still strong. bis central bankers ’ speeches with regard to my own country, mexico, i can say that we have in place a plan that fully complies with the three pillar approach i just presented to you. macrofundamentals are in good shape, we have a strong external position, even under stress scenarios, and unprecedented structural reforms are under way. all this, hopefully with stronger economic growth in the united states – our main trading partner – should allow us to preserve financial stability even under turbulent times, and increase gradually potential gdp growth to reach a level close to 5 percent at the end of president pena nieto´s administration. thank you very much for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches