more frequent issuance of a sufficient quantum of domestic government securities in a predictable arrangement that, hopefully, will attract a larger pool of participants and support deficit financing, with lower risks. this would be premised on the adoption of a strong governance architecture around public debt management, underpinned by the country ’ s well - established track record of prudent fiscal policy and strong institutions. furthermore, given the vulnerability of botswana to trade shocks, climate change and consequent prolonged droughts, there is need to maintain sufficient fiscal and external buffers. this means building sufficient resilience to afford the fiscal space to undertake countercyclical stabilisation when necessary. the contribution of the bank, in this regard, is through continued judicious management of the foreign exchange reserves to preserve capital, generate returns for organic growth, and to ensure availability of foreign exchange, necessary for uninterrupted economic activity. monetary policy framework distinguished ladies and gentlemen, the objective of the bank ’ s monetary policy is to achieve price stability, defined as a low, stable and predictable level of inflation within 3 – 6 percent, in the medium term. monetary policy formulation is also aligned to safeguarding stability of the financial system. in this regard, price stability as well as conducive monetary and financial conditions foster mobilisation of savings, productive investment, prudent allocation of credit and international competitiveness of domestic firms. in turn, a sound and stable financial system is critical for effective transmission of monetary policy signals, facilitating the flow of funds and liquidity, as well as risk mitigation in support of economic activity. overall, therefore, the conduct of monetary policy and attention to financial stability support the national objectives of employment creation and sustainable economic growth. price and financial stability also help to preserve the value of incomes and long - term savings, especially for low income earners and pensioners, with less opportunity or wherewithal to protect their incomes or generate wealth by other means. at this juncture i will, in turn, address three areas, namely, global trends that have influenced inflation in botswana ; highlights of the conduct of monetary policy, both internationally and here at home ; and, finally, provide the medium - term inflation outlook and outline the likely policy stance in 2020. external economic developments in 2019 global gdp growth declined to an estimated 2. 9 percent in 2019 compared to 3. 6 percent in 2018. the slowdown was widespread across countries and regions. global economic performance and sentiments

jerome h powell : remarks on monetary policy speech by mr jerome h powell, member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, at the c. peter mccolough series on international economics council on foreign relations, new york city, 8 april 2015. * * * the views i express here today are mine alone and not necessarily those of any other member of the federal open market committee. accompanying charts can be found at the end of the speech. thanks for the opportunity to speak to you today. in these brief remarks, i will discuss the progress of the economy and the path forward for monetary policy. the current expansion is almost six years old and is now one of the longest since world war ii. while the pace of improvement has at times been frustratingly slow, by some measures the recovery is now well advanced. by other measures, there is still room for improvement. assessing the scope for further improvement will be important in judging the appropriate path for monetary policy. after its most recent meeting in march, the federal open market committee ( fomc ) modified its forward guidance to say that an increase in the target range for the federal funds rate will be appropriate when the committee has seen further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2 percent objective over the medium term. such an increase could come as soon as the june fomc meeting. the timing of liftoff and the pace of subsequent rate increases will depend on incoming data and on realized and expected progress toward our congressionally mandated goals of stable prices and maximum employment. monetary policy works with long and variable lags, so rate increases need to begin well before we reach those goals. let us turn to the two main economic conditions for liftoff that the committee articulated. we have already seen a great deal of progress in the labor market, and i expect that progress to continue. despite slowing in march, job creation has been particularly strong over the past two years. the unemployment rate has declined from 10 percent in october 2009 to 5. 5 percent in march 2015, a level that is not far above many estimates of its natural rate. but the unemployment rate probably understates the amount of slack still remaining in the labor market. the labor force participation rate continues to be unusually low, suggesting that potential workers may be waiting on the sidelines for further improvements in job opportunities and wages. the number working part time who want full - time jobs also remains elevated. the low level of wage increases also suggests