We present herewith A. Ndiaye’s programme for FANAF’s presidency.
The power to convince, the sense of commitment to insurance
Dear colleagues
Six months ago, I took the decision to run for the presidency of the Fédération des Sociétés d’Assurances de Droit Nationale Africaine ( FANAF ), in consultation with the stakeholders operating in the African insurance business and outgoing members of the executive board of our association.
Together we have identified priorities and new impetus to be given to our Federation to grow, get stronger and become sustainable.
Alongside those members, I defined the guiding principles and the outline of the future actions worth taking. These guidelines have been brought to the attention of insurance decision-makers, whose experience, concerns and suggestions have enriched our findings.
During these exchanges, I have been acquainted with the various sensibilities of our profession, executives under the age of 30 and wise men who took part in the meeting of the general managers of October 1974, a prelude to the establishment of the FANAF.
They are either former presidents of the FANAF , leaders of groups, networks or insurance companies, reinsurers and brokers , presidents and general secretaries of professional associations, regulatory authorities or heads of departments , each of them have shared with us their experience and concerns.
I was able to gauge the depth of their commitment, the relevance of their diagnosis and the scale of their expectations. I have especially found in them strong keenness on the development of insurance business and its involvement in major economic and social decisions of the continent.
These consultations have reinforced my belief that after the construction and consolidation phase of the large African insurance family, it was high time we shifted our organization, soon quarantine, into a research-oriented machine in quest for a more central position to our profession.
It has therefore become essential, as we strive to consolidate the undeniable achievements capitalized under the leadership of prominent presidents that we embark with our federation on a new journey with changes to its form, direction and means of action.
I would like to seize this opportunity to recall the principles that have guided my conduct and shaped my priorities in order to share them with you as follows:
The need to reform FANAF’s General Secretariat
Since its inception in March 1976 in Yamoussoukro, FANAF has become over the years a mainspring of excellence where strategic thinking sets off to meet the challenges that mark the life of our business. According to the almost unanimous opinion of professionals, it is the successful African professional organization, the one whose renown has succeeded in turning African insurance into a great family united in its diversity, endeavoring to capitalize under the leadership of experienced professionals on excellent results.
Today, as internationalization, enlargement, transversality and visibility stand as the new natural dimensions of development, our association has no other option but to be in the forefront of thinking and action, the best means to endow its members with the necessary weapons to monitor their performance.
In its current form, FANAF’s General Secretariat is not equipped with the necessary tools to drive the appropriate momentum to this new turn. Its statutory powers and very limited material and human resources makes its role limited to a marginal dimension, while the daily challenges have never been more over-pressing.
Transforming this body into an Executive Secretariat endowed with the resources required to manage administration, assistance to national insurance associations and to projects spearheading is a guarantee of speed in decision making and in action and a sign of efficiency in the conduct of missions.
The reform I am intent on implementing will rely on the overhaul of operating documents in order to establish transparent governance based on clear rules and shared values conducive to the involvement of as many actors in our association. It will mainly trigger more fluidity in communication and implementation of guidelines. I shall do my utmost to make the highlight of my mandate.
Proposals for indepth reform of the statutes and overhaul of the organization and procedures will be submitted to the General Assembly as soon as possible.
The urgency to establish a more balanced cooperation with the supervisory authority
The insurance industry is undoubtedly one of the most regulated sector of the economy. Through both the active and passive protection of policyholders and beneficiaries of contracts, the legislature has set a legal and regulatory framework which often results in interference with contractual relations and sometimes in the management of insurance companies.
This very conservative vision of the regulator, that is, also the legislator tends to keep neighboring insurers at the periphery of the new international standards of administration, supervision, accounting and ongoing management in the financial sector.
My ambition is to continue and strengthen frameworks of exchange with the regulator, to participate more actively in its projects and create a special committee designed to examine the regulatory adjustments needed to the texts and to the current operating system so that the latter becomes promotional tool and not an impediment to the insurance industry.
The requirement to improve the visibility and the position of the insurance sector in society
The industry of the invisible , another characterization of insurance which no other area can better stand for it than the region of FANAF where the sector remains a closed club , with rules and specificifities still remaining as a mystery to the public. It is therefore not surprising that regional cooperation organizations, governments, employers' associations and social partners make decisions without informing or involving insurers. This situation must change.
My ambition is to develop synergies between FANAF and all local, regional and international policy makers. A partnership and a framework for the exchange of experience and information with most influential local, regional or sub-regioanl federal structures will be brokered.
The aim is to raise awareness of all economic, political and social palyers about urgency to give a central role to the insurance business and the ability of insurers and reinsurers to secure their local investments and participate in financing their projects.
The need to coordinate actions undertaken by different stakeholders
FANAF is mostly seen as an association of insurers. Other partners, be it intermediaries, reinsurers, experts or trainers, contributing to the success of our events and to the expansion and influence of our federation should be more involved.
I also suggest that we strive to pool up training activities for different stakeholders to avoid duplication and achieve programmes more in line with the needs of companies. Steps will also be taken towards sister organizations such as intermediaries, reinsurers, actuaries to adopt a common communication strategy and establish a collaborative approach to problem solving.
Dear colleagues
I am fully aware of the heavy tasks that await me should you grant me the great honor of presiding over our federation. My experience, though it had not been designed for this purpose seems to have converged on this station. During these twenty-five (25) years, I have touched on the various components of the insurance industry.
My candidacy is that of an insurer, a regulator, a reinsurer and a trainer who chose to be close to field work and to the concerns of stakeholders. This proximity has helped me build relationships of trust and unite around important projects for our sector. It especially helped achieve significant progress when I was required to handle cases in my capacity as member of the federation’s executive board.
This proximity will grow even greater if you do me the great honor to become FANAF’s president.
It is this belief in the future success of our projects that gives meaning to my commitment to African Insurance.Adama NDIAYE
