Dr. Baba Y Musa, Director General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) has disclosed that the institution has provided training for 23,375 participants from the sub-region and beyond.
He said this was possible through the successful implementation of 835 courses provided to various participants by the institution since its inception in 1996.
WAIFEM Director General disclosed this in his opening remarks at a regional course on corporate governance and regulatory compliance held in Banjul on Monday, 25th July 2022.
According to him, WAIFEM was established by the Central Banks of The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone in 1996, adding that it was primarily set up to build capacity for the improved macroeconomic, financial sector, and debt management as well as governance and institutional development in the constituent member countries.
WAIFEM Director-General continued that his institution is also mandated to conduct research and provide consultancy in the areas of macroeconomic policy management and promotion of best practices. Adding that the institute has so far, successfully executed over 835 courses since inception, and these have benefited more than 23,375 participants from the sub-region and beyond.
He disclosed that WAIFEM has over the years established collaborative arrangements with world-class training organisations and capacity-building institutions to ensure best practices in the delivery of its programs.
He went on to explain that the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, Commonwealth Secretariat, Debt Relief International, and the United Nations for Training and Research (UNITAR) are some of the institutions WAIFEM works with to bankroll its training programs.
“Collaborations have also been established with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Institute for Training and Technical Corporation (ITTC), the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), and the African Trade Policy Center (ATPC) of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA),” Dr. Baba Y Musa disclosed.
Dilating the regional course on corporate governance and regulatory compliance, WAIFEM DG said the regional training came at the most appropriate time when most West African countries and institutions are grappling with governance and regulatory issues. He does note that good cooperative governance is a foundation for a healthy and functional organization.
According to him, good corporate governance sets the standard as to how the organisation operates and behaves both internally and to the market generally. Also, it defines the relationship between the Board of Directors, management and the rest of the organisations.
“The course therefore, is designed to provide participants with the knowledge necessary to effectively design and enhance integrated good governance and regulatory compliance activities across organisations.
The course also aimed to build ethical culture and establish acceptable corporate governance standards and mitigation of compliance managers in addressing the pervasive corporate governance failures and regulatory compliance issues” the WAIFEM supremo concluded.
However, Dr. Paul Mendy, 2nd Deputy Governor, Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) commended the WAIFEM on hosting such an important training, while he said good corporate governance involves a framework that is put in place to get the most value for the stakeholders legally, ethically, and sustainably.
Dr. Mendy expressed that regulatory compliance involves being in accordance with the regulations set out by regulators, adding that it also ensures that regulatory requirements are fully met as required by regulatory agencies.
“Meeting regulatory requirements are a prime requirement for everyone who is part of an industry that is regulated. They are the set of processes an organisation uses to ensure that employees and the organisation as a whole abide by internal rules of conduct and external rules and regulations. Thus, regulatory compliance is crucial for businesses and not only those in the financial sector,” CBG Deputy Governor II revealed.
The CBG Deputy Governor II expressed his optimism that the course will provide a forum for the exchange of ideas towards ensuring that good cooperative governance practices are strengthened by organisations within the sub-region while calling on the participants of the weeklong training to take it seriously.
