sheku sambadeen sesay : issues relating to africa in the context of the global financial and economic crisis statement by mr sheku sambadeen sesay, governor of the bank of sierra leone, at the dinner in honour of the delegates for the african caucus meeting, hosted by the bank of sierra leone, freetown, 16 august 2010. * * * ministers of finance governors of central banks head of delegations distinguished ladies and gentlemen on behalf of the president of the republic of sierra leone, dr. ernest bai koroma and the board and directors of the bank of sierra leone, it is my profound pleasure to extend a warm welcome to all distinguished personalities assembled here this evening. i believe that since your arrival here in freetown you have had a taste of the typical african hospitality which is very true of the people of freetown. as you are aware this is my first meeting since my appointment as governor of the bank of sierra leone in june this year. our meeting is taking place at a critical period. our countries are experiencing the effects of the slow down in the world economy triggered by the global financial crisis. as we are all aware this recent challenge far exceeds the capabilities of any single country. these challenges require international coordinations and inter - governmental collaboration which makes it imperative for us to work together. as we meet today we welcome the various measures taken by the bretton woods institutions to reduce the impact of the devastating effects of the turbulences in the international monetary and financial markets and look forward to future reforms to help ease the burden on our economies. another issue i will like to mention is the aspect of voice and representation which is critical for us to be fully represented in these institutions and we are happy that these issues are being addressed. for the next two days we will discuss issues relating to africa in the context of global financial and economic crisis, lessons learnt and the way forward at the miatta conference hall. this dinner gives the opportunity to set the scene and get familiar with each other as there are a host of bank governors and finance ministers here coming from all over the continent, some, if not most, of us are meeting for the first time. i am certain it will not be hard for us to get to know each other because we share a lot in common, in terms of language, culture and socio - economic conditions. it is my belief that it is this common history and economic experience that brings us together and gives us a unique advantage in understanding our collective situations to help

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