OPENING AND CLOSING CEREMONIES SPEECHES

 

1.     WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF   THE BANK OF TANZANIA

2.    SPEECH OF THE COURSE DIRECTOR,
MR. A. J. LIYUMBA, AT THE CLOSING CEREMONY

3.    SPEECH BY THE GROUP LEADER ON BEHALF OF THE PARTICIPANTS AT THE CLOSING CEREMONY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF THE BANK OF TANZANIA AT THE OPENING OF THE 14TH EAST AFRICAN CENTRAL BANKING COURSE,

IMPALA HOTEL – ARUSHA – TANZANIA, 1ST JULY 2002.

 

Course Director,

The Arusha Branch Management,

Coordinators,

Facilitators present,

Course participants,

Invited Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

 

On behalf of the Governors of the Central Bank of Kenya, the Bank of Uganda, the Bank of Tanzania and myself, may I take this opportunity to welcome all participants to this 14th East African Central Banking Course.  May I also welcome you to Tanzania and in particular to Arusha, which as you all know, is the operational ground for the various East African Community initiatives taking place currently.  I hope you will find your stay in Arusha most comfortable, enjoyable, memorable and also rewarding.  The Bank of Tanzania, and specifically our Branch here in Arusha will do its best to ensure that you feel at home. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Before I formally open the course, it would be useful to freshen our minds as to why these courses were started, what objectives they aim at attaining and what developments have taken place since its inception.

The history of the East African Central Banking Courses dates back to 1968 when the Governors of the three Central Banks made a decision to institute a joint training activity, to be held bi-annually and hosted in turns.  The training was to prepare middle level officers assume higher responsibilities in the running of our respective central banking operations.  The first of such course was held in 1970 at Makerere University in Uganda.  The courses became a good source of knowledge, interaction and inspiration to Central Bank employees in the three East African States.  They were however sadly suspended (after only 4 courses), following the collapse of the East African Community in 1977, but resumed in 1984 following popular demand from employees of the three Central Banks.  The 5th course was conducted in Tanzania in this very town.  Since then, subsequent courses have continued to be conducted uninterrupted and it is my hope that this is the resolved way forward.

This is particularly important in view of the pace of socio-political developments in our region.  The Treaty for the East African Community was ratified in 2000.  This Treaty is now the cornerstone for strengthening cooperation between our states in various areas, including political, economic, social and cultural cooperation, for our mutual benefit.  The partner states have undertaken to establish, in accordance with the provisions of the treaty, a customs union, which will be followed by a common market, a monetary union and ultimately a political federation.  Considerable achievements have already been registered in some areas of cooperation and I am confident that during the course of your deliberations here, you will find time to examine what has so far been achieved and the challenges that lie ahead of us.  We take pride of the fact that we in the Central Banks have taken considerable steps in strengthening cooperation in the areas of monetary policy implementation, supervision of the financial institutions and harmonization of the financial sector as a whole.

 

Course Participants,

You have here some 3 weeks of discussions on various topics related to our central banking operations and to socio-economic developments of our region generally.  We therefore all know that the full benefits out of this course can only be realized through your efforts and commitment.  I am confident you will take this course very seriously and make use of every opportunity to add value to your work when you go back.  Since no course or training activity can provide all answers, it is my hope that this course will motivate you to read and explore more on the issues you will be introduced to so that each of you acquire more relevant professional skills and knowledge for the good of our Central Banks. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I sincerely believe that we all appreciate the efforts that have been taken to run these courses and would at this point like to reiterate the fact that training and capacity building opportunities in our Central Banks receives very high priority.  Each Central Bank must be spending per person and pro-rata at every operational level more than any other organization in our countries.  Facilitators and resource persons are also carefully selected from very highly competent experts in each field.  It is therefore our (and here I mean the Governors) honest expectation that the course will enhance efficient productivity and ensure sustainable competencies worthy of the public acclaimed per excellence of our Central Banks.

Course Directors and especially our Human Resources and career development directorates should also realize that the competitive nature of liberalized economies and free market concepts come with a more dynamic environment that our staff will now be operating in.  This invariably exerts more demand pressure on their competencies.  I therefore look at you to have a more innovative approach to future courses and training needs of our staff.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Without taking much of your time, let me take this opportunity now to declare the 14th East African Central Banking Course officially opened and wish you fruitful participation.

 

Thank you for listening.

 

 

SPEECH OF THE COURSE DIRECTOR,
MR. A. J. LIYUMBA

AT THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE 14TH EAST AFRICAN CENTRAL BANKING COURSE 

The Branch Director,

Mr. Magalanyago,

    - The Director Of Human Resources from Bank Of Uganda,

Branch Management,

Course Coordinators,

Participants,

Invited Guests,

Ladies & Gentlemen.

 

May I take this opportunity to extend to you warm regards from Governor D.T.S. Ballali who for reasons beyond his control could not be available either on the opening day or today.  He is currently overseas fulfilling other obligations there.  On behalf of Bank of Tanzania Management and on my own behalf, I would like at the outset to congratulate you all ladies and gentlemen for successfully completing this very important course. 

Dear Participants, 

As stated by your representative during the past three weeks you have been undergoing marathon sessions on a diverse of topics ranging from macroeconomics to rural finance.  This diversity of topics reflects the range of responsibilities, which Central Banks in our region are shouldering in the area of economic development.  Since each one of us is a specialist in his/her area of training the discussions on all this array of topics must necessarily have been very taxing.  It is my hope; nevertheless, that they were worthwhile in generally shaping your outlooks as Central Bankers and will therefore go along way in assisting our Banks play the roles expected of them in this increasingly complex and competitive world economic scene.  

And talking about this complex and competitive world, ladies and gentlemen, you are all aware of weaknesses inherent in each individual country with a small economy going it solo particular on issues economic.  In this regard we have to play tribute to our political leaders for commendable measures they have taken and are continuing to take towards East African integration.  I am sure that after this course each one of us has become more enlightened as to the role of our Central Banks in this process and what concerted action we as senior staff in the Banks can and should take.         

Course participants, 

This course has been important, perhaps for three more reasons.  In the first place it has given you an insight of what issues you need to explore more.  Of course, it is true that in a way each one of us is a specialist of some sort in what we are doing at our work places.  But the course must have served as an eye opener and in the process wetted our appetites in the search for more knowledge.  The course must have driven home the important point that learning is a continuous process.  It would be our hope therefore, and indeed, satisfaction if we will leave here with the understanding that this course has challenged you to move to higher educational and practical aspirations. 

Secondly, as most of you are senior officers and therefore main change agents in your respective areas of work the course must also have challenged you to reflect on how best you can play this important role of acting as catalysts of change.  And in order for you to assume this role you must be able to keep abreast of events, and predict them, a process again which underlines the need for continuous learning.  This course has moved you in this direction. 

Thirdly this course must also have facilitated and indeed cemented social relationships amongst yourselves.  Those of you from Tanzania will no longer be complete strangers in Uganda when you are sent for assignments there.  The same will be true for Ugandans visiting Kenya. 

Course participants, 

As normally happens during gatherings of this nature there are likely to be administrative hitches here and there.  I want to assure you that these were not intended and that our sister Central Banks will do their best to ensure that they do not reccur in the future.  The same of course applies to other technical issues related to the subject matter of the course.  This will be critically reviewed, thanks partly to your own course evaluation so that future participants benefit fully from presentations and discussions.  In this context a word or two about our Governors would certainly not be out of context. 

This course would not have been possible without the strategic vision and support from our three East African Central Bank Governors.  In a number of meetings that they have hitherto held to devise strategies for monetary policy harmonisation and stabilisation, they have always unanimously endorsed the role played by this course whose content is updated from time to time to incorporate requisite knowledge and skills that address contemporary issues thus contributing to the realisation of the harmonised monetary policies and strategies.  We thank them most sincerely. 

Finally ladies and Gentlemen, 

The Bank of Tanzania is very appreciative of the opportunity it has been offered to host this very important course and consequently contribute to the noble cause of macroeconomic harmonisation for the good of our three countries.  Based on the speeches hitherto made, I am happy to learn that it has been very fruitful in terms of disseminating relevant contemporary knowledge and skills that every middle and senior central banker should be conversant with. 

I wish to sincerely thank the Course Coordinators, Mr. K. Binott, Dr. J. Tibamwenda and Ms. S. Mahembe for the good work they have done in organizing this course.  They have worked for long hours in addition to their normal work schedule to ensure that the course runs smoothly. The same appreciation goes to Resource Persons, Secretarial staff and all those who either directly or indirectly contributed to the success of this course.  I wish to extend my special gratitude to you participants for having accorded the course the seriousness it deserves.  It is my sincere belief that when you return to your duties, you will proactively contribute towards the realisation of our common goal and aspiration. 

Since it is not my intention to make another lecture this evening, I wish to end here and declare this 14th East African Central Banking Course 2002 officially closed. 

For those who will be travelling, I wish you a safe journey home and my regards to your families at home. 

Thank you for attention.

 

SPEECH BY THE GROUP LEADER ON BEHALF OF THE PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING THE 14TH EAST AFRICAN CENTRAL BANKING COURSE AT THE CLOSING CEREMONY AT NOVOTEL MOUNT MERU, ARUSHA, TANZANIA ON 19TH JULY 2002

 

Our Chief Guest

Course Coordinators

Distinguished Guests

Fellow Participants

Ladies and Gentlemen

 

Introductory Remarks:

 

I am extremely honoured to be here before you on this auspicious occasion of the closing ceremony of the 14th East African Central Banking Course. 

Mr. Guest of Honour, Sir, the last three weeks have witnessed an eye opening experience for the participants from the three East African Central Banks attending the Bi-annual East African Central Banking Course at Impala Hotel. 

The course covered topics from the following broad themes:  Evolution of Central Banking in East Africa, the Role of a Central Bank with Emphasis on Contemporary Issues and Challenges, Macroeconomic and Stabilisation Policies, Fiscal Policy Objectives and Management, Prospects for Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy Convergence and Harmonisation in East Africa, Changes in Banking Legislation in Response to Evolution of Banking Systems in East Africa – A Comparative View, Tax Reform Policies- Tanzania Experience, Development of Financial capital, Management of  Change, among Others. 

The course drew twenty-five participants in total, with eight (8) participants from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), eight (8) from the Bank of Uganda (BOU) and nine (9) from the hosts, Bank of Tanzania (BOT). 

The participants were drawn from a wide range of professional and academic backgrounds; thus making the interactive process and cross-pollination of ideas enriching indeed.  The interactive approach of the course enabled participants discuss freely and in the process learned contemporary developmental and central banking issues as they affect their economies. 

In view of the foregoing, the participants made the following observations and recommendations regarding the 14th East African Central Banking Course: 

Course Evaluation: 

The topics covered were informative and relevant to Central Bankers in all material respects.  The resource personnel were eminent professionals, academicians and practitioners in their own right.  They all delivered their presentation in a manner that left no doubts in our minds that they did their homework well and were knowledgeable in their respective disciplines.

 

Field Tours: 

The tours were arranged for the first and second weekends of the course.  The tour to ESAMI and the Snake Park in the first weekend gave the participants an opportunity to understand the functions of ESAMI before the break-up of the East African Community, while the visit to the Snake Park enabled participants to sample a variety of snakes that are part of Tanzania’s heritage.  The visit to Lake Manyara National Park and Ngorongoro Crater elicited most interest in the participants as it ignited their spirit of domestic tourism. 

Resolutions and Recommendations: 

Having gone through the course, the participants made the following recommendations: 

i)                   The duration of the course be increased from three (3) to at least four (4) weeks to facilitate wider and in-depth coverage of the new and emerging topics. 

ii)                 We recommend that the course be held annually to enable a wider range of employees to benefit.  The bi-annual arrangement is too restrictive and limits the chances of wider participation by Central Banks employees. 

iii)              Include the following topics in future programmes:

a)            Governance issues in Management

b)           The aids pandemic and counter measures. 

iv)                Efforts be made to make these lecture notes available in our libraries to enable interested readers and researchers benefit from the same.  

v)                  Our state leaders should be advised on the need to concentrate on a few strong regional Economic integration arrangements rather than belonging to several of them, thus leading to divided loyalties and conflict of interest in resource allocation. 

Finally, on behalf of the participants, I wish to extend our gratitude to the Governments of the three East Africa states for creating an enabling political environment, the Management of our three Central Banks for sponsoring the programme, the Course Coordinators for the able manner in which they conducted the programme, the Resource Persons for their well researched papers and excellent presentation and the Management and staff of Impala Hotel Limited for their hospitality and good food leading to the successful conclusion of this course. 

I wish all participants and officials a safe journey back to their stations. 

Long Live East Africa.

 

THANK YOU

 **       Presented by Dismus Nyarimbasia on behalf of the participants attending the 14th East African Central Banking Course at Novotel Mount Meru, Arusha - Tanzania on 19th July 2002.      **