Kenya: President Ruto Appoints Kamau Thugge as CBK Governor
President William Ruto has appointed Kamau Thugge as the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor.
In a special gazette notice, the head of state indicated that the appointment which will be for a four year period will be effective from June 19.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 13 (1) of the Central Bank of Kenya Act, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces appoint- Kamau Thugge (DR) to be the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, for a period of four (4) years, with effect from the 19th June, 2023,” the notice stated.
During his vetting before the Finance and Planning Committee, Thugge proposed the issuance of locally sold dollar denominated bond with the government offering good rate to aid liquidity.
He noted that the government wants to Kenyans an incentive to stop stockpiling dollars in bank and release the money into the economy.
Thugge who cited media reports stated that Sh1 trillion had been deposited in the local banks in the form of foreign currency at a time when the country is facing a dollar shortage.
The shilling has been depreciating to the dollar currency which has been attributed to the global recession which has been precipitated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am looking at the possibility of issuance of dollar denominated bond the way we issue infrastructure bond. We structure it and issue locally and offer better rate that we will have the possibility of increasing liquidity in the system,” Thugge stated.
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The Former Treasury Principal Secretary told MPs that once approved as CBK governor he will ensure there’s more consultations with the banking sector to tap on the foreign currency deposited in the industry.
“The foreign currency deposit has reached at least Sh 1 trillion. We may need to see what is not happening in the foreign exchange market that is making Kenyans to hoard the deposit in dollars and not in Kenyan currency,” Thugge stated.
President William Ruto’s administration put in place a short measure of reducing the dollar shortage crisis through government-to-government importation that is estimated to reduce the demand by 500 Million dollars.
Thugge however dispelled the notion explaining that the measure undertaken by the government has managed to ensure the situation doesn’t worsen despite the narrow margin.
