Ndung'u new Central Bank boss

By MARK OLOO

SUSPENDED Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Dr Andrew Kavulya Mullei has formally been replaced, a day before the expiry of his contract.

Taking over the plum but turbulent job of CBK Governor is Professor Njuguna Ndung'u (pictured), a university of Nairobi economics lecturer.

Dr Mullei was suspended last year to pave way for the hearing of an abuse of office case preferred against him by the Kenya Anti- Corruption Commission in June last year.

Professor Njuguna becomes Kenya's seventh CBK Governor.

A statement signed by Finance Minister Amos Kimunya last evening said President Mwai Kibaki had appointed Prof Ndung'u to serve for a four- year tenure effective from March 4.

Mrs Jacinter Wanjala Mwatela, has been the acting CBK Governor since the suspension of Mullei in March last year.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 11 (2) of the CBK Act, His Excellency President Mwai Kibaki has appointed Prof Njuguna S. Ndung'u to be the governor of CBK for a period of four years, with effect, March 4, 2007," said the statement.

It is not clear whether Mwatela will assume her old duties as the deputy governor of CBK.

Prof Ndung'u is currently the director of training at the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), a capacity building network in sub Saharan Africa on policy issues relevant to development in Africa as well as graduate training in economics.

A long time researcher, Prof. Ndung'u, holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and master's and bachelor's degrees in economics from the University of Nairobi.

He has lectured in advanced economic theory and econometrics at the University of Nairobi, and has been a regional trainer in macro modelling and econometrics applications .

Ndung'u has also published extensively in external debt, financial liberalisation in Anglophone Africa, structural adjustment, employment and labour market issues.

He previously worked as Regional Programme Officer for the Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, Nairobi, of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.

The new Governor also worked with the Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) as a Principal Analyst/Researcher and Head of the Macroeconomic and Economic Modelling Division.

He takes over from Jacinta Mwatela, who has been at the helm of the bank since March 23, 2006, following the suspension of then Governor Andrew Mullei.

Mullei had been accused of abuse of office by giving out contracts totalling to Sh9 million unprocedurally to a consultancy belonging to his son.

Prior to her appointment, Mwatela was the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya since May 12, 2005.

In both appointments, she made history by being the first woman to serve in those two positions.

Mwatela graduated from the University of Nairobi in 1977 with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Business Administration and joined CBK as a Graduate Trainee on December 1, 1977. She served in almost all the departments of the Bank.

In her banking career spanning 29 years, Mwatela has served as Director in Deposit Protection Fund Board, External Payments and Foreign Exchange Reserves Department, Estates, Supplies and Services Department and Financial Markets Department.

Mwatela has also served in senior management positions in Exchange Control, Foreign Operations, National Debt Registry, Banking and Bank Supervision Departments.

Her last appointment as Director was in the Deposit Protection Fund Board (DPFB) before becoming the Deputy Governor.

As Director of the DPFB, Mwatela was mandated with the responsibility of providing deposit insurance cover to member institutions and liquidating failed financial institutions as the implementing agent of the Board.

Prior to her directorship at the DPF Board, she was the Director of the National Debt and Financial Markets Department responsible for the promotion of deepening the financial markets in addition to managing the Government's domestic debt.

Her responsibilities also included the management and administration of the foreign exchange reserves of the Bank and the provision of banking services to the Government and commercial banks.

Mwatela was also mandated with the role of monetary policy implementation encompassing exchange rates and Open Market Operations.

During her tenure in the Department, Mwatela was instrumental in the installation of the Central Depository System (CDS), which introduced electronic issue and registration of Government securities as well as facilitated secondary trading in the securities.

At the helm of Supplies and Services Department, she was responsible for the support function, which encompassed the management of the Bank's physical assets and procurement of goods and services.

Mwatela was also instrumental in the formulation of the Bank's procurement policy, which ensured consistency with the country's procurement law.

In her long and illustrious career in public service, she continues to be a role model, an excellent public servant and a person of unquestionable integrity whose rise to the apex of Kenya's financial system has been a source of pride to the Central Bank of Kenya.

A holder of a PhD degree in Economics, Dr Andrew Mullei became the CBK governor on March 4, 2003.

He previously served in various high-ranking positions in several reputable institutions and committees among them the Institute for Policy Analysis and Research, African Economic Research Consortium, K- Rep Bank, National Anti-Corruption Strategy Committee, Ad Hoc Committee of Economic Advisors to the President of Kenya among others.

Mullei also served as Advisor and Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund and as a Trade Policy Advisor to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

CBK, according to Banking Act, undertakes a regulatory role of the financial sector. Its main roles include formulating and implementing monetary policies directed at achieving and maintaining stability in the general level of prices.

It also fosters the liquidity, solvency and proper functioning of a stable market-based financial system.

The Bank's other functions include formulating and implementing foreign exchange policy, holding and managing its foreign exchange reserves, licensing and supervising authorised dealers in the money market.

The bank equally has a core objective of promoting the smoothening operation of payments, clearing and settlement systems and acts as a banker and adviser to, and as fiscal agent of the government. It also issues currency notes and coins.