The long term: mobility and prosperity Although much of the debate necessarily focuses on the short term, the key issues are those that concern the long run. On the one hand, how can the new member states catch up sustainably on the EU average in terms of prosperity and productivity? On the other hand, how can the “old” EU countries benefit from the enlarged EU in order to boost growth, which in many cases has left much to be desired? 2  BIS Review 51/2004  Firstly, let me point out where we stand today. According to the EU’s statistical agency, Eurostat, the purchasing power adjusted GDP per capita of the eight new eastern and central European member states ranges from 77.3 per cent of the EU average in Slovenia to 42.6 per cent in Latvia. The richer new member states - Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary - are in terms of purchasing power closer to the EU average than Spain and Portugal were when they joined in 1986 (Slovenia is actually on a par with Portugal and Greece today). The other countries are all just under the relative level that Portugal had in 1986. Sometimes the GDP curves are extended up to the beginning of the 1990s and the fall in output that followed the liberation from communism. These figures are in many ways misleading, however. Firstly, there was considerable manipulation of statistics under the dictatorship, making correct data difficult to reconstruct.
Caleb M Fundanga: Access to finance – corporate governance and sustainability Opening remarks by Dr Caleb M Fundanga, Governor of the Bank of Zambia, at the official opening of the Microfinance and Small to Medium Enterprises Conference on “Access to Finance: Corporate Governance and Sustainability”, Lusaka, 17 June 2008. *  *  *  • Honourable Felix Mutati, MP – Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry; • Mr Michael Mundashi – Non-Executive Director Standard Chartered Bank; • Mrs Mizinga Melu – Managing Director Standard Chartered Bank • Mr Prashant Thakker – Global Head of Microfinance Institutions of Standard CharteredBank • Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen I am honoured to have this opportunity to make keynote remarks at this conference on Microfinance Institutions and Small to Medium Enterprises organised by Standard Chartered Bank, whose theme is “Access to Finance: Corporate Governance and Sustainability”. I wish to extend a warm welcome to all participants, particularly those that have travelled from outside the country. I hope that you will find time to see some of the tourist spots of Lusaka and experience the warm hospitality that Zambia has to offer. Distinguished Guests, following the liberalisation of the Zambian economy in the early 1990’s, the number of small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) has increased significantly as the Government divested from running business in the economy to pave way for increased participation of the private sector.