President Uhuru Kenyatta has forwarded to Parliament for approval the name of Dr Patrick Ngugi Njoroge, an IMF adviser as the next Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor.
He has also nominated Haron Sirima, current Deputy Governor and Sheila M’Mbijiwe, a banker and former member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) as deputies. Mohamed Nyaoga, a seasoned lawyer, has been named to the position of CBK Board Chairman.
The three nominees will now have to await vetting by Parliament before being formally appointed by the Head of State at a time when the Kenya shilling has been losing ground against the US dollar. According to a source, the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi is expected to read the names on the floor of the House today when Parliament holds a special sitting to discuss the mediation report on Division of Revenue Bill, 2015.
“The names are already with the speaker and the President expects the process of approval to be expedited so that the new team can settle down and start work immediately to calm the uncertainty prevailing in the forex market,” a senior Government official told The Standard.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) had shortlisted the then acting CBK Chairman Dr Bernard Mbui Wagacha for the job of new chairman, a job that is expected to enjoy more clout including a larger oversight role than former chairpersons.
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Dr Wagacha, who is also a State House economic adviser, applied for both the job of governor and chairman advertised in April immediately after the exit of Njuguna Ndung’u as Governor. This highlighting his interest to be retained at the bank. Also interviewed for the Chairman’s position was the Consolidated Bank of Kenya Chairman, Dr Benson Akong’o Ateng’ and Mr Nicholas Bartuiyot Korir, a former boss at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies, who is now on secondment to the Comesa Monetary Institute.
regional balancing
The current deputy governor Dr Sirima had applied for the position of Governor but has been retained in his current position. Also interviewed to replace Prof Ndung’u, who retired last month, included former Planning Permanent Secretary and one time CBK Deputy Governor Dr Edward Sambili, Dr Peninah Wanjira Kariuki and the current National Treasury Economic Secretary Dr Geoffrey Ngungi Mwau. Prof Ndung’u completed his second four-year term at the helm of the lender on March 4. The CBK is a state organ charged with the responsibility of ensuring stability of monetary policy, including inflation, interest rate and exchange rate.
The current law, which came into force in 1966, gives the President sweeping powers to appoint the chairman, governor, two deputy governors and eight other non-executive directors of CBK.
In making the appointments for Chairman, Governor and these two Deputy Governors, the executive is likely to be guided by the need for regional balancing in the key organs of national government and well as gender equity considerations.
