per fine ounce, the gold - mining shares declined by 17 % up to the end of april. the general surge internationally in the share prices of the information sector at first supported the prices of these industries in south africa, but information technology share prices weakened markedly from mid - march. although conditions in the share market are still volatile, price movements have shown a distinct upward trend since the middle of april 2000. the increases in share prices were discernible in most of the main sectors. the volatility in the market was responsible for a further sharp increase in the value of shares traded to an all - time high of r155 billion in the first quarter of 2000. in contrast to the unstable conditions in the foreign exchange and capital markets, interest rates in the money market were largely unchanged. for example, the bankers ’ acceptance rate fluctuated in a narrow range of between 9. 83 % and 9. 92 % from the beginning of march, while the rate on interbank funds remained constant at a level of 9. 5 %. the stability in the money market can mainly be ascribed to the monetary policy stance that the reserve bank pursued. 3. factors responsible for uncertainties in markets the factors responsible for the uncertain conditions in our financial markets arose mainly outside the borders of our country and were largely related to perceptions about the effect on south africa of developments in neighbouring countries as well as the strength of the us dollar. in the past week, i have visited london and basel. in the process, i met market participants in london and my colleagues in the central banking fraternity at the bank for international settlements in basel. again and again, it was emphasised that political conflicts in sub - saharan africa were harming investor sentiments, which were not doing south africa and the region any good at all. one person even referred to what he called “ the depressingly present african psychological factor ”. sentiment is an important ingredient in market decisions and public authorities must take cognisance of this. it is clear therefore that conflicts in sierra leone, ethiopia / eritrea, the democratic republic of congo, angola and the management of the land question in zimbabwe have had a major impact on our financial markets. in this connection, and in order to remove any doubts about south africa ’ s position, the president of the republic has committed south africa to supporting the peaceful resolution of these conflicts and lawful processes of land reform. he further assured everyone that south africa ’ s land question will be resolved through an orderly legal and constitutional

are kept in check and productivity enhancements are achieved. the role of chartered accountants from the above it is clear that we face many challenges in the years ahead of us. the global recovery may continue to take several years before output gaps are closed. domestically we have significant structural challenges to overcome, but i believe that all of us, including the accounting profession, have an important role to play in this regard. the profession can make a tangible contribution towards ensuring that our businesses and public sectors are appropriately capacitated to deal with their many challenges, using the bis central bankers ’ speeches skills and knowledge that members acquire during their academic and practical training, including analytical capability, professionalism, integrity, understanding complexity, etc. it is also important that members of the profession respond positively to the call of public service. members should not merely become service providers to the public sector, they should also join the ranks of the public service in order to address the shortage of skills within that sector. in this context, they have much to contribute to root out corruption, design monitoring and early warning systems so as to ensure improved service delivery, institute controls that would minimise instances of wasteful and fruitless expenditure, and design reports so that politicians, officials, and other stakeholders have access to accurate and timely information. this should contribute to improved decision - making and policy outcomes. in time, the baton will pass to you and you will assume leadership positions both within the professional service firms, but also in the private and the public sectors. i do hope that you will do your best to strive to uphold not only the professional and ethical standards that is expected of you, but that you would in fact improve it further and ensure that in the process you tirelessly work towards both transforming the profession but also ensuring that it grows in an inclusive way. conclusion in order for us as a nation to move forward it is important that we all own up to the responsibility that we have to ensure that south africa reaches its full potential and, that it thrives and succeeds at all levels. as newly qualified chartered accountants many of you have a particular contribution to make to improve our competitiveness and performance, both domestically and within the global context and in that way help to improve the lives of all our people. once again, allow me to congratulate you on your outstanding achievement and be assured that we will be closely watching your progress. i thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches