of objective and independent information and analysis. an objective and professional media which has credibility with the public is of much more value to the central bank than an uncritical media which no one takes very seriously. the interests of the media and those of the bank of uganda are not identical but that does not mean that we cannot work together in a harmonious manner. to do this we must create a relationship which is based on openness and trust. trust is critical and it works both ways. from the media ’ s standpoint, reporters and editors must be confident that they are not being deliberately misled with false information that they receive from the bank. from the bank ’ s standpoint, we must be confident that the media will not deliberately distort or misrepresent information given to them by ourselves. we should also strive to improve professionalism in economic and financial journalism. the information that the media makes available to the public matters for the financial markets and influences the decisions made in these markets. accuracy is, therefore, essential. to help strengthen standards of reporting, the bank has provided training to local journalists on financial and economic issues at seminars over the past four years, and we intend to provide more of these training sessions in the future. i want to finish with quote from mr. larry summers, currently chairman of the presidents economic council of advisors in the united states ; ” in this age of electronic money, investors are no longer seduced by a „ financial dance of a thousand veils. [UNK] only hard and accurate information on reserves, current accounts, monetary and fiscal conditions will keep capital from fleeing precipitously at the first sign of trouble. ” memo from ceo to manager : today at 11 o'clock, there will be a total eclipse of the sun. this is when the sun disappears behind the moon for two minutes. as this is something that cannot be seen every day, time will be allowed for employees to view the eclipse in the parking lot. staff should meet in the lot at ten to eleven, when i will deliver a short speech introducing the eclipse, and giving some background information. safety goggles will be made available at a small cost. memo from manager to department head : today at ten to eleven, all staff should meet in the car park. this will be followed by a total eclipse of the sun, which will appear for two minutes. for a moderate cost, this will be made safe with goggles. the ceo will deliver a short speech beforehand to

emmanuel tumusiime - mutebile : partnering with the media for effective communication and quality reporting speech by prof emmanuel tumusiime - mutebile, governor of the bank of uganda, at the 1st bank of uganda / media top executives ’ dialogue, kampala, 6 november 2009. * * * the chief executive officers, editors - in - chief and senior management of the media houses represented here today colleagues from bank of uganda distinguished participants ladies and gentlemen, let me take this opportunity to welcome you all to this, first ever, dialogue between bank of uganda and top executives of various media houses. the theme for today ’ s discourse is “ partnering with the media for effective communication and quality reporting ”. we have organised this dialogue because we believe that there will be mutual benefits for the bank and the media if we can build and sustain a relationship which is based on a shared understanding of each others ’ goals and mutual trust. like any central bank, the bank of uganda depends for the success of its policies on being able to communicate effectively with the general public. this is because public perceptions and expectations affect their economic decisions. those perceptions and expectations are clearly influenced by the actions of the central bank. hence it is imperative that the public fully understands what the central bank is trying to do and what the implications of its actions for the future course of the economy are. let me give you an example. the rate of inflation is a key variable in the economy. the public ’ s expectations of future inflation affect their economic decisions made today, in terms of businesses setting the prices of their products, workers ’ wage demands and the rate of interest required by investors. if expectations of future inflation are misconceived, decisions made today could have harmful consequences ; businesses which set their prices too high might find themselves priced out of markets, for example. hence one of the most important tasks of the central bank is to ensure that the private sector can make informed economic decisions based on accurate data and a proper understanding of economic policy, including the goals of policy and the measures which are being taken to achieve those goals. the constitution grants to the bank of uganda operational independence to implement its policies. the bank shares this operational independence with many other central banks around the world and this is now well understood to be essential for effective macroeconomic management. but independence requires accountability if it is to be politically sustainable in a democracy and accountability, in turn, requires transparency. we are under no illusions that unless we can convince the