caleb m fundanga : central bank independence – a zambian perspective opening remarks by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, to the symposium “ central bank independence : does it hurt the treasury? ”, livingstone, 12 - 13 november 2007. * * * the chairperson the guest of honour, the hon minister of finance and national planning the attorney general honourable minister of southern province honourable members of parliament present fellow central bank governors present his worship the mayor of the city of livingstone deputy central bank governors present senior treasury officials present the executive secretary of sadc members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of international organisations present distinguished invited guests ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the bank of zambia and indeed on my own behalf, i would like to extend a very warm welcome to you all to this important symposium entitled “ central bank independence : does it hurt the treasury? ” to our colleagues from outside zambia, i wish to extend a special welcome to you to zambia, in particular to livingstone, our tourist capital. like the rest of zambia, livingstone is a city of tranquility with an easygoing african charm. the city is not short of interesting sites and places to visit. it hosts the victoria falls, also known among the locals as “ mosi - o - tunya, the smoke that thunders ” and is one of the world ’ s seven wonders! there is also a game park, a well - stocked curio market and the mukuni cultural village, among the many attractions. i therefore urge you to find time or indeed stay an extra day or more to sample this special menu that livingstone can offer. ladies and gentlemen, this symposium comes at a time when the economic performance of our country has significantly strengthened as partly reflected in a 6. 2 % growth in real gdp and single digit inflation of 8. 2 % for 2006. during the month of october 2007 inflation edged downward to 9. 0 %. commercial banks ’ lending rates have also exhibited an investmentsupportive trend while the kwacha has relatively been stable. further, we have observed an improvement in the fiscal operations of the government, which is supportive of the country ’ s inflation and growth objectives. chairperson, despite these achievements, our country like so many other developing countries, still faces some challenges. notable among these is the urgent need to consolidate and build the gains so far attained. in particular, the need to attain sustained price and financial systems stability can hardly be overemphasized. chairperson, allow

caleb m fundanga : payment system developments in the region speech by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the official opening of the 2007 sadc payment systems regional conference, livingstone, 2 april 2007. * * * • sadc payment systems project team leader ; • sadc payment systems project country leaders ; • chairperson, bankers association of zambia ; • delegates from all sadc countries ; • distinguished invited guests ; and • ladies and gentlemen on behalf of the bank of zambia and indeed on my own behalf, i wish to welcome you all to zambia and livingstone in particular. for those of you coming to livingstone for the first time, you will no doubt soon discover that this historical city, which incidentally was zambia ’ s capital city until 1935 when it was moved to lusaka, is one of the world ’ s pristine tourist destination and boasts of a number of magnificent sights and places of cultural interest. for those of you that have been here before, i wish you a joyous time as you renew your acquaintance with this beautiful city and enigmatic victoria falls. to all of you, i implore you to shop around and take a piece of livingstone as souvenir on your return. ladies and gentlemen, allow me to thank you all for being here for the 2007 sadc payment systems regional conference. this event has now become interwoven into the tradition and fabric of sadc. it has come to symbolize our commitment to collaboration and consultation within the sadc committee of central bank governors ( ccbg ) and annually marks our contribution to the process of regional economic co - operation and integration. it is in this light that the bank of zambia applauds the favourable response from all central banks, individuals and other institutions represented here for allowing their members of staff to attend this event. as bank of zambia, we believe this event provides an excellent opportunity for exchanging views and sharing ideas in improving our national payment arrangements to foster economic growth and integration. ladies and gentlemen, lessons from the development of payment systems in the european union and the united states of america provide a useful guide for emerging market economies such as ours. that be as it may, recent technological advancements and developments in china and india are also instructive as they glaringly indicate that it is possible to leap frog some of the historical development experiences of these major industrialized economies. however, it is without a doubt that this will require the concerted efforts and commitment of all those involved in the transformation