However, there is a risk that African countries could become the biggest casualties of a crisis they did not create. The impact is already severe and has dealt a huge shock to our continent while posing a great threat of reversal to the hard earned social and economic gains that most of our economies had achieved in the recent past. Ladies and Gentlemen, for more than a decade, most African countries had continued to register unprecedented economic growth rates averaging 5% and above. We saw a rise in income levels and a reduction in poverty among our peoples with improved education,  BIS Review 44/2009  1  health, water and infrastructure development. The continent also experienced a surge in investment flows in many sectors including mining, manufacturing, tourism, transport and construction. Progress in governance and accountability had also been noted in most African countries. Mr Chairman, allow me without pre-empting the deliberations to mention some problems the global financial crisis has created for most African economies. Commodity exporting countries have experienced a decline in their export receipts. This has been due to the decline in commodity prices reflecting the weak demand of such commodities arising from the scaled down output in industrialised and emerging market countries. The declining export earnings as well as changing investor sentiment toward investing in emerging markets, which has been reflected in the reversal of investment flows, have been exerting pressure on the exchange rates.
In Zambia, the effects of the global financial crisis have been generally felt in our mining industry, securities market, and the external sector of the economy. The drop in copper prices has led some mines closing while other have been placed on care and maintenance with massive job losses while the mining subsectors and mining related industries have also seen loss of jobs. The tourism industry is adversely affected with low occupancy rates while the horticulture industry has also recorded losses due to low export volumes as result of low demand and low commodity prices of vegetables and fresh flowers in European markets. The exchange rate has also come under severe pressure as foreign exchange inflows declined reflecting the deterioration in the balance of payments position. This is partly a consequence of reduced earnings from copper exports arising from the fall in copper prices. Further, the weakness of the local currency is a consequence of increased risk aversion to emerging and developing economy financial assets. Chairperson, the challenges arising from the global financial and economic crisis are huge but surmountable. Major economies of the world are putting in place various stimulus packages, which are expected to take the world economy out of the crisis. Without doubt, these measures will benefit emerging and developing economies as well, provided that were main committed to pursuing strong socio-economic policies. I urge all of us here present to be part of the solution and contribute to the economic recovery and prosperity of this continent.