Insiders battle it out for CBK deputy position

central bank of kenya

Kenya: Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) employees are set to battle it out for the position of Deputy Governor after the Public Service Commission (PSC) rescinded its earlier stand that they were not eligible to apply for the job. The agency had on March 1 said all current CBK employees, bankers and civil servants would be locked out of the race for the position.

"No person shall be appointed as deputy governor... if he/she is a Member of Parliament or a Member of a County Assembly, a salaried employee of any public entity (except on a secondment basis) or a director, officer, employee, partner in or shareholder of any specified bank or financial institution," it had said in a statement.

Despite interest in the position of deputy governor, which attracted a total of 42 candidates in the first advert, only 15 candidates responded to the re-advertisement, with the Commission short-listing six individuals out of this list.

rejected list

The position of deputy governor had attracted 42 applicants but the commission rejected the list, saying it had not found an adequate number of candidates with the minimum requirements for the position.

Slotted for the interviews which started yesterday are Rose Detho (Director in charge of Strategic Management), Mark Lesiit (Director-Banking Services and Risk Management), John Birech (former member of CBK monetary policy committee), Gerald Nyaoma (Director, Financial Markets) and Sheila M'Mbijjewe (Director at Ecobank and former member of top policy making organ at CBK).

A new face that was not in the original list that was rejected is James Wahome - a macro-economist and former CBK employee. Wahome, who at one time sought the position of Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner General, has been at the Tunis-based African Development Bank where he worked for more than a decade.

From the list of six, PSC will pick three and forward their names to President Uhuru Kenyatta, alongside those of the governor and chairman. The bank will have two deputy governors. Interviews for the chairman's position and governor of the regulator were concluded last week.

The names are expected to be forwarded to the President next week for appointment, which will be subject to approval by the National Assembly. Parliament is expected to take keen interest in the position, whose holder will be a critical part of a team that will ensure macroeconomic stability.

In appointing the chairman, governor and two deputy governors, the executive is likely to be guided by the need for regional balancing in the key organs of national government and gender equity considerations.

 

The two women with a head-start in the race for Deputy Governor are Rose Detho- an employee who has risen through the ranks, as well as Sheila M' Mbijjewe, a seasoned banker.

A parallel can be drawn between Prof Njuguna Ndung'u's CBK succession battle with that of former Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner General Michael Waweru - who was replaced by an insider despite a strong field of outsiders.

CBK is a key determinant of economic stability given its primary role in safeguarding the integrity of the financial system. The current law gives the President powers to appoint chairman, governor, two deputy governors and eight other non-executive directors of CBK.