President William Ruto appointed Kamau Thugge, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor for a four-year term effective 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,” a special notice read.
Thugge replaces Patrick Njoroge, who has served in the position for eight years.
Thugge advocated issuing locally sold, dollar-denominated bonds with the government offering a favourable rate to help with liquidity during his review by the Finance and Planning Committee.
He pointed out that the government wants to give Kenyans a reason to quit hoarding cash in banks and start investing it in the country's economy.
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Thugge, who referenced media reports, claimed that Sh1 trillion in foreign cash had been placed in local banks when the nation suffered from a dollar shortage.
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine War and the fallout from the COVID-19 epidemic have caused a global recession, which has been blamed for the shilling's depreciation against the dollar.
“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.
Thugge will ensure more consultations with the banking sector to tap into the foreign currency deposited in the industry.
