MONROVIA – August 26, 2016: The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the West African Institute for Financial & Economic Management (WAIFEM), Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) Executive Governor, Mr. Milton A. Weeks, has lauded the role of the Institute in the banking sector since its establishment 20-years ago. Governor Weeks observed that WAIFEM has generated positive impacts in almost all-economic management Institutions in the member countries and beyond. The CBL Executive Governor said the Institute’s training programs in all of the areas of its mandate have been assessed by participants and stakeholder institutions to have consistently high impactful results in terms of quality, course relevance, course contribution to professional knowledge and course effectiveness. Drawing from the WAIFEM experience, Governor Weeks pointed out that rigorous and systematic assessment of its relevance is required in setting up a capacity building institute of a similar nature.
Governor Weeks lauded the Board of Governors and management for its commitment and unwavering support to the Institute. “This has been critical to the success story we are witnessing today,” he added. The Governor has, meanwhile, called for donor support to enhance the work of WAIFEM. While commitment of owners of a capacity building institution is of paramount importance, he observed, “donor support for capacity building in developing countries such as ours, is necessary to supplement funds available to the institutions.” He stressed however, that for such institutions to attract donor funding they must ensure that certain conditions are met. They include transparency and accountability; maintenance of financial procedures that guarantee avoidance of conflict of interest and maintenance of standard accounting practices; and identification of donors that meet their funding needs.
WAIFEM is a training institute located in Lagos, Nigeria. It was established in July 1996 by five West African Central banks including, the Central Banks of Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, the Gambia and Sierra Leone, to help enhance the capacity building process of professionals from member countries.
The CBL Executive Governor was elected chairman of the Institute at the 31st meeting of the Board of Governors sitting held on August 4, 2016 in Conakry, Guinea. He will Chair the Board of Governors for the next two years as Liberia’s
Representative.
Meanwhile, Governor Weeks has participated in the just-ended 39thy Ordinary meeting of the Assembly of Governors of Central Banks of African Countries, held in Abuja, Nigeria. The two-day assembly adopted reports on activities of the Association and reviewed progress reports on the implementation of the African Monetary Cooperation Program (AMCP).
Other reports deliberated upon by the Governors included, Financial Stability: New Challenges for Central Banks; Project Proposal on Cross Border Banking Supervision in Africa; Activities of the Community of African Banking Supervisors, Survey on AACB member central banks’’ Monetary Policy Frameworks, African’s representation in the IMF, among others.
The Governors’ meeting was preceded by a symposium on the theme, “Unwinding Unconventional Monetary Policies: Implications for Monetary & Financial Stability in Africa.’ The symposium was intended to share experiences on monetary, banking and financial issues of current interest.
For further inquiries contact:
Cyrus Wleh Badio
Head of Communications
Central Bank of Liberia
Monrovia, Liberia
Email: cwbadio@clb.org.lr/wlevan1000@yahoo.com