By Neo Kolane
The government of Lesotho has appointed Dr Maluke Letete as governor and chairman of the board of directors and Lehlomela Mohapi as first deputy of the Central Bank ff Lesotho (CBL) respectively with effect from June 1 2022.
A statement issued by the bank this week says Dr Letete brings significant experience for the CBL’s mandate to the role. Having sat on the bank’s board of directors as a non-executive director for more than five years.
“Dr Letete last served as chief economic advisor to the Prime Minister of Lesotho and head of accountability unit.
“He has also held senior roles at the National University of Lesotho as a senior lecturer and head of economics department between 2006 and 2018.
“He also served as a lecturer in macroeconomics at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and a consultant for UNDP, SADC and IDRC/HEARD amongst others.
“Dr Letete holds a Doctor Philosophy degree (PhD) in economic science, financial economics, political economy and institutional economics UCT,” the statement read.
It adds that prior to his appointment as acting governor on January 1 2022, following the end of term of office of the former governor and two deputy governors, Mohapi was the chief economist and director of research and secretary of the monetary policy committee of CBL for over nine years.
Mohapi has served as board chairman for the Lesotho Revenue Authority and the fund executive secretary for the Lesotho Communications Authority.
He has also served as senior lecturer and head of economics department for NUL.
Mohapi holds an MSc (Economics and Econometrics) obtained from the University of Manchester and an MBA from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot- Watt University.
The Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) was first established as the Lesotho Monetary Authority in 1978, under the Lesotho Monetary Authority Act of 1978. It started its operations on January 2nd 1980. In 1982, through the Act of Parliament, the name Lesotho Monetary Authority was changed to the Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) and additional functions and responsibilities were prescribed to the new institution. In August 2000, the Central Bank of Lesotho Act of 2000 came into force.
