louis kasekende : overview of the ugandan economy remarks by dr louis kasekende, deputy governor of the bank of uganda, at the closing of the ugandan business journalists training workshop by thomson reuters foundation, kampala, 5 march 2010. * * * distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen good afternoon it is my singular honor and great pleasure to deliver closing remarks at the journalists ’ training. i would like to congratulate all of you for having completed this training program. your participation is an indication that you are ready to enhance your skills through such professional training programs. at the bank, we consider financial reporting as a key ingredient in the process of financial markets development. in the globalised world, efficiency in the financial markets is mainly driven by free flow of information, which investors can rely on for making their investment decisions. there is, therefore, a growing need for the emerging economies to continuously improve on the efficiency of information flow in order to compete internationally and attract foreign capital flows. this can only happen when the players get the right information. i wish to emphasize the important role played by professional business journalists in the development of financial markets. irresponsible and inaccurate reporting can cause instability in the market place and ruin investment prospects. i am sure with this training, focusing on ethical and responsible reporting in financial markets is a step in the right direction. as uganda ’ s financial sector appears on the radar screen of global investors, industry players and professionals rely on what they read, hear or see and this is largely posted by journalist in different forms of media. i would argue that responsible reporting in the current world where “ sentiment ” is key in driving financial markets is imperative to national economic development as well as to the stability of financial markets. this is a key component of the financial markets competitiveness and attractiveness not only to the foreign players but also to the domestic investors. the global meltdown in financial markets has reminded us all of the importance of financial and business journalism. arising out of these a number of profound questions as to the quality of that form of reporting have come up. the most common question that has been posed is – did the financial reporters fail to put the financial system under proper scrutiny? as you improve your skills please draw lessons from this past experience. it goes without saying that financial markets thrive on information, it is, therefore, critical that information is disseminated accurately, in a timely manner and in a well structured format. it should be relevant and more importantly

towards a shared management of the underlying problems of our economies in which each is called on to shoulder more responsibility in serving the common good. although the forms may be mortifying, the substance of the problems to be solved does not depend on the person who enunciates them. it is in the interest of the individual member states to recognize this substance, to recognize the ways to go forward – and without hoping in others – to trust in themselves, their own strength, their own history – to save themselves in europe. this is the fundamental lesson of the crisis : to build the future in europe together. only by doing so will we be able to remake italy. bis central bankers ’ speeches