MEFMI Region Urged to Create Enabling Investment Environment

The 7th MEFMI Forumfor Deputy Governors and Deputy Permanent/Principal Secretaries for Finance/Economic Planning took place during the period 25 to 26 November 2013, in Lusaka, Zambia. This Forum is held biennially and this was the first such event to be held in Phase IV.  MEFMI activities are planned in phases, with each phase running for a period of five years.
The theme for the Forum was “Tapping the opportunities for growth and development in Africa”.

The Forum was officially opened by Dr. Michael Gondwe, the Governor of the Bank of Zambia.  In his opening address he indicated that Zambia was pleased to host an activity for the senior officials from the client institutions of MEFMI.  In addition, he pointed out that this year alone, MEFMI brought a number of capacity building events to Zambia, which he acknowledged as a very good gesture.

Dr Gondwe stated that the theme for the Forumwas most pertinent for most economies in the MEFMI  region consideringthe challenges currently faced in attracting private investment. He indicated that when Africa proved resilient during the 2009 global financial and economic crisis, overseas private investors took note. In that regard many companies without a presence in Africa started showing interest in the continent. He lamented that their interest was not fully entrenched owing in part to some structural constraints that exist within Africa. He therefore underlined the fact that the missing link is the enabling environment that governments have to provide.

The Forum attracted a total of 16 delegates from 11 MEFMI member states, of whom 5 (or 31%) were female. These comprised eleven (11) Deputy Central Bank Governors, three (3) Deputy Secretaries; and two (2) Directors.To support and generate discussions around the theme and the Forum objectives, the following topics were deliveredby two regional speakers, two international MEFMI technical partners  as well as private sector partners from EY:
•    Cross border infrastructure development: Opportunities and Constraints.
•    Public Investment imperatives Needed to spur economic growth;
•    Alternative Investment options for Central Bank Reserves
•    Banking Sector Consolidation: Opportunities and Myths.
•    Banking the un-banked and mobilizing savings: Practical Experiences on the role of e-wallet and mobile banking.

The rich and diverse experiences of the speakers together with the active participation of the policy makers provided the necessary learning experience important for this forum.

The Forum was officially closed by Mr.Felix Nkulukuza, the Permanent Secretary, of the Ministry of Finance, Zambia. He appreciated the fact that the focus of the forum was on the underlying need to tap on the opportunities within the private sector in order to assist in propelling growth and development in Africa. He acknowledged that much of the high economic growth rates that Africa has achieved have been largely contributed by the fast growing sectors that are driven by the private sector.