Bereng Mpaki
THE Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) has appointed Prime Minister Moeketsi Majoro’s former economic adviser and head of the accountability unit, Maluke Letete, as its substantive governor.
Appointed on Monday, Dr Letete is replacing former governor, Retšelisitsoe Matlanyane, whose contract ended on 31 December 2021.
Her contract expired along with those of her deputies, \Masilo Makhetha and ‘Mathabo Makenete.
Lehlomela Mohapi, the former chief economist and director of research of the CBL, has been acting in the position since January 2022.
Mr Mohapi has now been appointed Dr Letete’s deputy. A second deputy will be appointed at a later stage.
Although the two appointments have been confirmed on the CBL website, the apex bank is yet to release a formal statement.
Both the governor and deputies are appointed on five-year terms, according to the CBL Act of 2000.
The CBL’s stakeholder relations specialist, Teboho Senthebane, said a formal statement would be released in due course.
“We hope to release a statement on the matter soon,” Ms Senthebane said.
Dr Letete previously served a non-executive director of the bank for more than eight years before joining the Prime Minister’s office in 2020.
He also served as a senior lecturer and head of the Economics Department at the National University of Lesotho (NUL) from 2006 until 2018. He specialises in economic modeling, strategic planning, governance and institutions.
Dr Letete successfully led the development of the country’s second National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP II) currently under implementation.
He has also been an international consultant for various organisations including the Commonwealth Secretariat, Southern African Development Community (SADC), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) among others.
