BY VICTOR BAATWENG
The central bank governor ÔÇô Moses Pelaelo is expected to lead the ceremony marking the launch of the country’s first ever financial stability council this week.
This comes after the Bank of Botswana announced in early 2018 that it had begun consultations with the Finance Ministry to pave way for the establishment of a new watchdog in the financial sector ÔÇô the Financial Stability Council for Botswana.
The Council’s establishment comes at a time when the country continues to experience multimillion financial scandals more especially in the capital and money markets.
It is expected that the high-level Council will primarily comprise the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Bank of Botswana and the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority with a primary focus on coordinated macro-prudential monitoring, analysis and response with respect to any financial system imbalances or distress.
“This recognises the shared responsibilities for regulation and supervision of the financial system, as well as for the design and implementation of financial sector legislation, policies, regulatory and oversight frameworks,” said Bank of Botswana governor Moses Pelaelo at the central bank’s Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) launch in the capital Gaborone in March 2018.
At the time, Pelaelo said that the new council is expected to reinforce collaboration, cooperation and communication amongst the relevant authorities to achieve comprehensive monitoring and enforcement of legislation and regulations in order to maintain integrity and stability of the financial system.
This week, Bank of Botswana said that apart from the annual Monetary Policy Statement (2019), launch a ceremony to mark the official introduction of the stability council will be held in the capital Gaborone.
“The ceremony will include the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by the Governor; Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development; Chief Executive Officer of Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA); and Director General of Financial Intelligence Agency.”, reads part of a statement from the central bank.
