Download ↓ 

Governor's Speech At The 2023 Financial Literacy Week Launch

As you may be aware, the commemoration of the Financial Literacy Week commenced yesterday with a Ministerial Statement by the Honourable Minister of Finance and National Planning, Dr. Situmbeko Musokotwane. This year’s theme is “Plan your money: Plant your future". It aims to raise awareness about the importance of adopting a responsible, informed and forward-looking approach in making financial decisions.

I am delighted to welcome you all to the launch of the public awareness campaign for this year’s the Financial Literacy Week which runs from the 20th to 26th March 2023. The campaign will be conducted by financial institutions and stakeholder partners in all the 10 Provinces of our country through a variety of activities, including public exhibitions, school debates and media programmes.

Ladies and Gentlemen,  Zambia's commemoration of Financial Literacy Week is undertaken under the auspices of the Global Money Week – which is an annual global awareness-raising campaign on the importance of financial education. In the past 11 years, Zambia has domesticated this campaign by working to create awareness amongst children, youth, and adults on the need to acquire the knowledge and skills about personal financial management. Importantly, the campaign is part of the National Strategy on Financial Education and complements other interventions such as the inclusion of financial education in the school curriculum from Grade 1 to Grade 12, financial education conducted for youths in tertiary institutions, adults in workplaces, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises - including smallholder farmers.

The overriding goal is that , with the acquired knowledge, citizens can have the confidence and motivation to make sound financial decisions and use appropriate financial services. This knowledge is expected to translate into improved financial well-being of our citizens, and in so doing enable them to contribute to national development through improved productivity and greater resilience, that supports job and wealth creation.

The 2023 theme for the Financial Literacy Week encompasses the wellbeing of citizens in terms of looking after our environment, through the phrase ‘Plant your future’. This recognises that future individual wellbeing is not only linked to the financial health of society but also to sustainable economic development which is dependent on the preservation and protection of our natural ecosystem. Thus, it places great responsibility on us, at a personal level, to ensure that we take care of the environment by undertaking various conservation activities such as tree planting, water resource management keeping the environment clean as well as minimising deforestation.

This is in line with the broader goals under the 8 th National Development Plan (8NDP) which runs from 2022 – 2026 and has a strategic development area on environmental sustainability. The 8NDP recognises that the pursuit of the economic activities entails the sustainable utilisation of natural resources which are the basis for wealth creation, as well as building resilience to the adverse effects of climate change. Thus, the 8th National Development Plan prioritises measures aimed at promoting green growth, safeguarding the environment and natural resources, strengthening disaster risk reduction, enhancing climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as the development of climate resilient infrastructure across all sectors for sustainable development. The integration of environmental sustainability in financial education in this year’s theme is thus very important.