Zambia Union of Financial Institutions and Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) has urged government to ensure that a Board of Directors at the Bank of Zambia (BOZ) is urgently instituted.
ZUFIAW President Ackim Mweemba told ZANIS in an interview in Ndola today that financial sector institutions occupied a special position of trust in the national economy.
Mr. Mweemba noted that for any institution to move the policies forward there was need for a board of directors to provide checks and balances in order not to risk the public losing confidence in a given institution.
“BOZ is an institution that supervises institutions that hold the funds of depositors and creditors, if it does not have a board of directors instituted as soon as possible to provide checks and balances then it risks the public not to have confidence in the banks that secure people’s funds,” Mr. Mweemba said.
He observed that the nation was in a globalised financial market and other technological advancements and new innovations in the financial products of the sector that brought about a complex of risk management.
He stressed that the board of directors should be in the forefront of seeing to it that government programmes were implemented and are on course.
He cited the Industrialization and job creation strategy in the manufacturing, tourism, agriculture and construction sectors as some of the government programmes that should be implemented and seen to be on course by the year 2017 but that if there was no board at BOZ then it will be difficult to achieve the goals.
Mr. Mweemba wondered who would carry out the checks and balances and ensure that the programme is implemented if there is no board of directors in place.
Mr. Mweemba however said government should ensure that once the board of directors is instituted it should deal with the high levels of casualization of labour which he said is not only detrimental to the financial sector but the private sector as well.
“It is a pity that when the country is grappling with high unemployment levels, BOZ can have over 100 vacancies. The effectiveness of the institution is being affected,” he said.
He said the other issue that the board of Directors should deal with is the erring in-house pension funds which he termed as being in a coma due to the policy at the bank which has been pursued for the past 12 years.
And I hope I will b a member of that board,i hav sat and watched evrybdy being appointed,and its been so frustratin, this should b my turn now,wont accept it if am left out again
Am sure HH will command or demand that the Board be set up, or he hasn’t realised that or he is waiting for time when EL is just about to announce the Board. What an under 5
Your obsession with HH is nauseating. You must envy him big time. Is that all you think about?
BOZ Board is ineffective. You can’t have the Governor to function as Board Chairman as well. How will the checks and balances be conducted. We need reforms at BoZ.