Caleb M Fundanga: Increasing access to financial services in Zambia Remarks by Dr Caleb M Fundanga, Governor of the Bank of Zambia, at the official opening of National Savings and Credit Bank, Lukulu Branch, Lusaka, 27 May 2009. *  *  *  The Guest of Honour; the Honourable Minister of Finance and National Planning; Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane, MP The Honourable Minister for Western Province; The Deputy Permanent Secretary for Western Province; The Honourable Members of Parliament for Lukulu East and West; The Acting Ngambela Imbua Imwaka representing the Barotse Royal Establishment; The District Commissioners for Lukulu and Kaoma; The Board and Management of National Savings and Credit Bank; Distinguished invited guests; Ladies and gentlemen. 1. On behalf of the Bank of Zambia Governor, I would like to thank the Board of Directors and Management of National Savings and Credit Bank for inviting us to the occasion of the opening of another rural branch in Zambia, this time in Lukulu. 2. National Savings and Credit Bank (also commonly referred to as NATSAVE) was established on 1 April 1972 by the National Savings and Credit Bank Act of 1972 and it commenced business operations in March 1973. The amendments to the Banking and Financial Services Act of 2000 extended the supervisory authority of the Bank of Zambia to NATSAVE which was until then, supervised by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MoFNP). 3.
The same can be said for the public and business community in these economies. The economies enjoying a favourable fiscal position also faced the crisis without impairing their long-term fiscal sustainability. The situation seemed slightly more complex in some developed European economies. Seeking to find a balance between deleveraging and fiscal consolidation, euro area authorities demanded setting up a protective wall against the possible fire bursting into from the outside. But, as noted, this fire had already burst out and was spreading inside the euro area walls; therefore, setting up this “protective wall against fire” was pointless at this point. The European Union and its institutional structures, along  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  with the international financial institutions and partners, are undertaking a number of reforms to put this “fire” out. However, it is still unclear how long this “agony” will last and likewise is its impact on the euro area and its trading partners. The exhaustion of fiscal and monetary policy incentives failed to increase economic activity and, moreover, it further aggravated the sovereign debt situation and financial stability. Consequently, the sovereign debt sustainability and banking system credibility-related issues were added to the concerns about economic growth. The question facing many countries today has the form of a trade-off between stability and sovereignty. Currently, the latter two are intertwined in an endogenous relationship (of mutual impact on one another), in which the multi-dimensional need for stability (implying the maintenance of price stability, macroeconomic stability, financial and fiscal stability) requires taking balancing measures.