Staff Writer
STANDARD Lesotho Bank has appointed Kenrick Cockerill as its new chief executive officer.
Mr Cockerill’s appointment is with effect from 1 April 2020.
He replaces Mpho Vumbukani, who resigned last August after eight years of service having become the first Mosotho in that position since January 2011.
“The board of directors of Standard Lesotho Bank is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Cockerill as chief executive of Standard Lesotho Bank effective 1 April 2020,” a statement from the bank reads.
The bank said Mr Cockerill has a successful 32-year career history with the Standard Bank Group. He fulfilled several key leadership and specialist roles in South Africa, Botswana, DRC, Nigeria, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique and most recently in Tanzania. We look forward to fully tapping his leadership skills to enhance our customer experiences.
“The board also extends its sincere appreciation to Mr Thabiso Tsenki, who has been the acting chief executive for Standard Lesotho Bank, while the recruitment process for a substantive chief executive was underway; to our staff for their dedication and commitment; and most importantly, to our customers and other stakeholders for their unwavering support during this transition period,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, the banking sector recently donated M2 million to help the country fight the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Although Lesotho is yet to record any cases, Lesotho is especially at risk as neighbouring South Africa has now recorded 1500 cases and nine deaths.
The country is currently on a three-week lockdown that ends on 21 April 2020.
And the local banks namely, the Central Bank of Lesotho, FNB Lesotho, Lesotho PostBank, Nedbank Lesotho and Standard Lesotho Bank have collectively donated M2 million towards the fight against the outbreak of COVID-19 in Lesotho.
The contribution will be used primarily to support advocacy and educational messages to ensure that Basotho are aware and empowered to take precautionary measures to limit the spread of this deadly virus, which has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“Public education has been considered critical at this stage because prevention is one of the best ways to manage the pandemic; hence the country’s dire need to mobilise Basotho to be aware of the virus and to encourage them to take preventative measures against its spread,” a statement from the banks said.
The banks said the support was in response to a clarion call by the government for all stakeholders to join efforts in preventing or combating the spread of this pandemic, which can otherwise become a national crisis affecting the lives of all the citizens.
“The banking fraternity also applauds the government for taking the lead by declaring a national lockdown as announced by the Right Honourable the Prime Minister, which is necessary intervention to control the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
“The sector also continues to reaffirm its commitment to join the world in combating COVID-19 and to cooperate with the Ministry of Health and other interest groups to arrest this pandemic.”
The banks said they were committed to remaining open during the lockdown as they are one of the essential services that were identified by the government. Banks are opening at 9am to 3pm starting on Wednesday.
“However, all clients are strongly advised to minimise branch visits and use all electronic banking channels for their banking as much as possible. These include internet banking, mobile banking, and app services. The use of these channels will limit their visits to branches to reduce exposure.
“Furthermore, clients are encouraged to use banks’ call centres for other services like enquiries, queries, etc. Branches and ATMs are being regularly sanitised to ensure a safe environment for clients whilst visiting branches.
“As advised by WHO, the banking fraternity also emphasises on the message for all residents in Lesotho to stay at home, stay safe and wash hands with soap and water or sanitiser regularly in order to curb the spread of COVID-19,” the banks said.
