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Gambia: Central Bank Governor On Financial Services
The Governor of the Central Bank, Famara Jatta, has described Government as the only actor that can ensure an enabling environment that promotes competition among a wide range of financial service providers, while also protecting consumers from predatory or fraudulent practices.
He said it is regrettable that some Governments continue to use credit schemes to transfer resources to specific target populations. The negative impact of most of these schemes he went on, has led many to rightly advocate that Governments disengage from microfinance.
The Central Bank's Governor made these remarks, on Thursday, at the Paradise Suites Hotel, while opening a Regional course on regulation and practical operations of microfinance institutions organised by WAIFEM.
Mr. Jatta added that access to financial services tailored to the poor contributes to human and economic development, economic growth and better safety net to protect against economic shocks. "The great challenge, therefore, is to address the constraints that exclude people from full participation in the financial sector," he said.
Mr. Jatta however noted that there is a broad consensus that Governments do have a constructive role in building financial systems that work for the poor. "More specifically, Governments have the responsibility to ensure that legal and supervisory systems support and ensure soundness of a range of financial organisations, including prudential regulation for financial institutions that collect savings from the public," he said.
Governor Jatta added that poor clients require responsive financial services beyond credit such as savings, transfers, payments and insurance. He urged microfinance institutions to explore the possibility of introducing the integrative approach to microfinance. This he said have been successful in many Latin American countries.
The Central Bank's Governor also urged microfinance practitioners to embrace the "critical triangle of microfinance" concept. "Institutions that are successful in actualizing the concept and implementing other good practices would stand in good stead in helping the poor improve their lives, make critical choices about investing in business, educating their children and improving family licensing ownership and capital requirements.
Mr. Jatta noted that access to a well functioning microfinance sector can economically and socially empower the poor and low income people and help small enterprises to better integrate into the mainstream economy.
He added that an estimation between two and three billion people around the world are excluded from access to financial services. He explained that 90 percent of the population lacks access to formal finance due to the fact that banks do not have the comparative advantage in providing financial services to the poor. The Director General of WAIFEM Dr. Chris Otsede, in his welcoming remarks gave a brief development about WAIFEM.
He said the reason why WAIFEM is interested in microfinance since mid 1980s, microfinance has assumed growing importance in the financial services delivering paradigm of developing countries. The microfinance revolution was animated by the war on poverty he said.
The course which is being attended by member state banks, namely, The Gambia, Ghana , Liberia , Nigeria and Sierra Leone is expected to end on 15th March 2007.
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