Kenyan lawmakers approved the nomination of Susan Jemtai Koech as deputy governor of the central bank, as the monetary authority prepares for a change of its top leadership.
(Bloomberg) — Kenyan lawmakers approved the nomination of Susan Jemtai Koech as deputy governor of the central bank, as the monetary authority prepares for a change of its top leadership.
Koech’s appointment comes three months before Governor Patrick Njoroge’s and sole deputy governor Sheila M’Mbijjewe’s second four-year terms end. As a result, Koech will likely serve as acting governor of the bank pending the recruitment of a replacement for Njoroge, who’s scheduled to leave office on June 17.
Prior to joining the public service in 2018, Koech served in various capacities during her 27-year stint at KCB Group Plc, Kenya’s second-biggest bank by assets. She holds a doctorate degree in business management from Moi University, where she graduated in 2018. Over the past five years, she was the principal secretary at the State Department for Wildlife and East African Community.
Koech, 49, fills a post that was left vacant since 2015, when Haron Sirima left. Her appointment means the Central Bank of Kenya is no longer in breach of a law requiring it to have two deputies, a lapse that was repeatedly flagged by the Office of the Auditor-General.
During her confirmation hearings, Koech cast herself as a dove when she called for looser monetary policy to help lower the cost of living in Kenya. Inflation in East Africa’s biggest economy was 9.2% last month and has breached the ceiling of the central bank’s 2.5% to 7.5% target range since June.
She urged lawmakers to review Kenya’s interest-rate regime and propose legislative and policy interventions to enable Kenyans to access credit at more affordable rates.
Koech has also called for a more vibrant interbank market to encourage the free-flow of foreign currency, amid a shortage of dollars in Kenya. She said the “huge difference” between exchange rates quoted by the central bank and what clients receive from commercial lenders is “not allowable,” and promised lawmakers that she would work to avoid such a scenario.
The shilling has declined 4% against the dollar this year.
Kenya’s monetary policy committee is scheduled to next gather on March 29, which will be Koech’s first meeting. Njoroge lifted the benchmark interest rate by 175 basis points last year in a bid to fight sticky inflation.
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