Caleb M Fundanga: The central bank, the media and the legislature – can they work together? Remarks by Dr Caleb M Fundanga, Governor of the Bank of Zambia, at the 35th anniversary of the Central Bank of Swaziland, Mbabame, 21 May 2009. *  *  *  Governor M.G. Dlamini, Fellow Central Bank Governors, Your Excellencies the Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and gentlemen, And May I simply Say All Protocol Observed, Mr. Chairman, it is indeed a great pleasure for me to be with you today as we commemorate the 35th Anniversary of the Central Bank of Swaziland. I consider it a great honour and privilege, on behalf of the Bank of Zambia and indeed on my own behalf, to have been invited to give a keynote speech at this historic event. Mr. Chairman, allow me to first of all congratulate the Central Bank of Swaziland, the Government and all other stakeholders for having come a long way in promoting the effective conduct of monetary policy in this great country over the last 35 years. We at the Bank of Zambia have noted the important role that the Central Bank of Swaziland has played not only in the development of the Swazi economy, but in enriching the knowledge of central bankers throughout the region, through its participation in the regional groupings such as the Committee of Central Bank Governor’s in SADC.
This would imply that the taking into account of CSR in management models would result in a certain form of self-regulation, for example with recognised codes of conduct. Different incentives are contributing to this, such as pressure from direct stakeholders and NGOs and regulatory incentives, in particular in terms of reporting. Lastly, I would like to say a few words about the Banque de France. I wish to stress that, as a company, CSR is of great importance. Its current sustainable development strategy combines a two-pronged approach: an Environmental Footprint Reduction Programme and a review of its tasks in the light of sustainable development. In this respect, the Banque de France will, for example, seek to develop the financial culture of the public, spread best practice in the fight against money laundering, encourage economic and financial research in new fields, such as the development of “carbon finance”. I attach great importance to these subjects, and my wish is to see the Banque de France adopt its own sustainable development charter, which formalises its commitments. This should be achieved by the end of this year and will no doubt further enhance the actions of the Banque de France. In the light of this collective awareness of the environmental (finitude and fragility of natural resources), economic and societal implications, central banks perform their task of preserving financial stability while taking into account and anticipating events. This approach, as recent developments have shown, has to be increasingly systemic and co-operative, involving companies, banks, governments and central banks.