mohamed s fofana : sierra leone stock exchange – developing the country ’ s financial sector opening remarks by mohamed s fofana, deputy governor of the bank of sierra leone and chairman of the stock exchange technical committee, at the inauguration ceremony of the sierra leone interim stock exchange, freetown, 27 july 2007. * * * your excellency, the president honourable vice president my lord chief justice your excellencies, members of the diplomatic corp hon minister of finance other cabinet ministers mr governor mr secretary to the president and other senior civil servants heads of financial institutions colleague setc members distinguished members of the private sector ladies and gentlemen it is my singular privilege and honour to chair this occasion. i must confess that i only agreed to perform this function under pressure from my colleagues of the stock exchange technical committee, who insisted that as chair of that committee, i am under obligation to chair this ceremony. my personal inclination was that some more distinguished personality than myself should assume this role. it is not common that such a galaxy of distinguished personalities would converge on the bank. when this happens, it is a clear indication that something out of the ordinary is in the offing, as is clearly the case today. your excellency, the inauguration of the sierra leone stock exchange, which you are about to perform, is a unique occasion in every sense. not only is this the first such institution to be established in this country, but it also constitutes the first major visible sign of the formal commencement of organised capital market operations in sierra leone. this is a landmark in our financial history as we take a crucial step towards the further extension and deepening of our financial sector, which up till now largely consists of a money market. while this occasion is significant in its own right, i would like to stress that it is part of a process, rather than an event. from this perspective, it is simply the outcome of all the planning that has taken place in the context of deliberations in the stock exchange technical committee, work done by the capital market unit of the bank, and the inputs of local and foreign consultants, especially for the preparation of legal documents for the establishment of the capital market in general, and the stock exchange in particular. sensitisation of various parties, including our parliament, the press, representatives of the business community and the university has been undertaken, and will continue on a wider scale. consultations have been held with some institutions in the public and private sectors to forge operational links in further

respect to the management of resources for sound economic development. in the mid - 1990s the requirements of transparency, accountability and participation were added to its characteristics. by 2000, the development assistance committee of the oecd adopted a perception of good governance as requiring “ a broad approach to partnership extending beyond government and parliaments to include civil society and the private sector ”, and adding to the notions of transparency and accountability that of predictability. given their centrality in the governance agenda, it would be advisable to expand a little on transparency and accountability. transparency refers to the need for openness in government policies and decisions. such openness, and making available required information to the populace, will reduce the scope for misuse of resources and enhance public capacity for holding governments to account. one of the crucial areas highlighted for attention in this regard is the budget. it is through the budget that the management of national resources is mainly implemented and the absence of transparency in budgeting processes can engender corruption, inefficiency and inequity, and compromise the provision of public services and the development effort. particular focus is advised on public procurement. the use of open tender processes, publication of relevant information regarding award of contracts, easily accessible complaints procedures when foul pay is suspected, are among the crucial considerations for ensuring good governance in public financial management. similar approaches should be adopted in the management of revenues accruing from natural resources such as oil and other mineral wealth, forestry and fisheries resources. the contracts signed with foreign partners for the exploitation of these resources, the revenues accruing there from and the uses to which they are put should be readily accessible to the populace. absence of transparency in these matters creates breeding houses for conclusion of arrangements which may not be of general national benefit, encourage misappropriation and exploitation of national resources in the interest of an elite minority, with a potential in the long run of threatening national cohesiveness and precipitating instability. the case for transparency and good budgetary management assumes further significance in the evolving advocacy for channelling aid through the domestic budget. the provision of aid in the form of general budgetary support confers greater independence in the use of resources on recipient countries, stronger national ownership of development policies and programmes, and lower costs than those associated with multiple aid delivery modalities. for this intention to be achieved on a wide basis and the proffered benefits realised, donor governments and institutions must have confidence in mechanisms in place in recipient countries for