17 Jul 2013

Government appreciates the role of Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) in its endeavour to provide a desirable location for investment while diversifying the economy and creating local employment.

This was said by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr Kenneth Matambo at the NBFIRA brand launch in Gaborone on July 11. The minister said NBFIRA was relatively new and yet a vitally important institution for Botswana.He said a sound financial regulatory regime was a pre-requisite for any legitimate investor and NBFIRA was a major contributor to that sense of investor confidence.

The minister said the more its existence, mandate and oversight role in the economy were recognised and understood by its stakeholders, both locally and internationally, embraced by the public, the greater would be the long term benefits to Botswana. He said the authority recently developed its brand strategy, through which it aimed to develop and implement a system of multi-faceted, consistent and regular communications that supported the NBFIRA brand and grow its brand equity.

The NBFIRA brand, he said, was a combination of a name, symbol, colours and human resource competencies which enabled the authority to become a reputable regulatory authority, which was consistent with NBFIRA’s corporate values.

Mr Matambo noted that the NBFIRA logo on the other hand was a symbol of identity for NBFIRA’s brand, which was appealing and distinctive, saying it would have a positive and lasting impression on anyone who interacted with the authority. He explained that NBFIRA came into existence on April 1, 2008 through the NBFIRA Act of 2006 following the government’s decision to establish a single independent authority to regulate the activities of non-bank financial institutions in the country.

The minister said the mandate of NBFIRA as outlined in Section 8 of the NBFIRA Act, was to regulate and supervise non-bank financial institutions to foster the safety and financial soundness of non-bank financial institutions sector while promoting highest standards of business conduct, fairness, efficiency and orderliness within non-bank financial sector.

In addition, he said NBFIRA was also charged with overseeing the stability of the financial system as regards financial entities under its supervision and ensuring reduction and deterrence of financial crime.

For her part, NBFIRA board chairperson, Mr Mmatlala Dube said although the authority was established five years ago, it had been operating without a brand. She said they faced challenges of funding as dependence solely on government subventions proved to be inadequate for their operational needs.

However,  they managed to make use of the limited resources to keep the authority functioning, she explained. Ms Dube also noted that they had been fortunate to receive financial assistance from the African Development and World Banks, funds which were used towards the development of the risk-based supervision model necessary for effective supervision of the sector.

Ms Dube further noted that the authority achieved a satisfactory implementation level of its first strategic plan despite resource challenges adding that in future they expect to do much better than the past one especially with the improved resources.  ENDS