One day, when he was returning from the river after a fishing expedition, a beggar, sitting by the side of the road, was reported to have asked him for a fish. “I’ll not give you a fish. Instead, I’ll tell you how you could catch a fish” Confucius is reported to have told the beggar. The moral of the story was that if the beggar was given a fish, he would get used to the free fish and beg for it everyday. Then, it would have been a severe burden on Confucius. So, he advised the beggar to depend on himself rather than begging from others. The experience in poverty alleviation throughout the globe has shown that safety nets in the form of outright grants do not work in the long run. Hence, the safety nets that were introduced earlier were converted to “safety ropes”. Those safety ropes were expected to provide a means for the poor to hang onto and then climb upward with the support given to them. Thus came the era of microfinance which indeed was a safety rope through which the poor could cross the poverty line. Such microfinance would help them to attain the goal of getting out of poverty, provided certain conditions are met. The training program conducted by CAB teaches us these conditions which are needed for the sustenance of microfinance schemes. The experience throughout the world tells us that microfinance alone is not sufficient to eliminate poverty. This is because microfinance satisfies only the funding requirements of micro-enterprises.
Bwalya K E Ng’andu: The National Strategy on Financial Education for Zambia Remarks by Dr Bwalya K E Ng’andu, Deputy Governor (Operations) of the Bank of Zambia, at the launch of the National Strategy on Financial Education for Zambia, Lusaka, 12 July 2012. *  *  *  The Deputy Minister of Finance, Honourable Miles Sampa, M.P; The Minister of Education, Honourable Dr. John Phiri, M.P; The Chief Executive Officer of the Securities & Exchange Commission, Dr. Wala Chabala; The Registrar, Pensions and Insurance Authority, Mr. Martin Libinga; Your Excellencies, Heads and Representatives of Diplomatic Missions invited; Senior Government and financial sector industry officials; Distinguished Invited Guests; Members of the Press; Ladies and Gentlemen. Honourable Ministers, I am delighted to welcome you, on behalf of the three financial sector regulators, i.e. the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Pensions and Insurance Authority and the Bank of Zambia, to the launching of the National Strategy on Financial Education for Zambia. The launch is being done under the auspices of the Financial Sector Development Plan and represents a culmination of a wide range of activities which have been carried out within the scope of the Plan since 2002 with the objective of addressing challenges in the financial sector and strengthening and broadening access to financial services in Zambia.