President Uhuru Kenyatta Appoints Five New CBK Board Members

President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed five members that will fill the positions of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) board positions.

The appointed Board members who are set to be in charge of the CBK board of directors for the next four years is made up of three women and two men and they include Ms.Rachel Bessie Dzombo, Samson Cherutich, Mr.Ravi Ruparel, Ms.Nelius Kariuki and Ms.Charity Selina Kisotu.

According to the Kenya Gazette, Ravi, Nelius and Charity commenced work from 4th November 2016, while Dzombo and Cherutich are set to commence from 3rd December 2016. The Central Bank has been without a functional board for over a year. Delays in appointing the board of directors was being blamed on President Kenyatta.

The CBK Board comprises 11 members consisting of the chairperson, governor, National Treasury PS or his representative who shall be a non-voting member, and eight other non-executive directors. Under the CBK Act, the board is supposed to discuss the regulators performance, check decisions made by management and consider capital investments.

Here are brief profiles of the newly appointed CBK board members:

Mrs. Nelius Wanjiru Kariuki

Ms.Nelius Wanjiru Kariuki , 65, has worked in the Ministries of Commerce and Industry, Finance and Planning and National Development starting as an Economist and rising to the level of Principal Economist.  She has been a Director of Nelleon Development Company Limited.

Alumni of Alliance Girls High School as well as the University of Nairobi, from where she graduated with an M.A and a B.A in Economics.  She has served as a Board member in various girls’ high schools as well as The Murang’a Teachers College.  She has also served in various business and professional organizations.

She served on the Board of Kenya Re as a Director from 2003.  In 2007, she was appointed as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. She led the Corporation through its first IPO and is recorded as the first woman to ring the bell at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Under her Chairmanship, Kenya Re continued to experience an upward trend in its financial performance. In addition, Kenya Re’s business saw the Corporation open regional offices in Abidjan in 2010.  She was instrumental in steering Kenya Re to attain and maintain the ISO 9001:2008 standard as well as successful CSR Progamme – Niko Fiti- Abillity Beyond Disability.

Her social interests include golf, a sport in which she has served in various positions rising to become Chairman of the Veterinary Laboratory Sports Club.  She has also served in the Kenya Ladies Golf Union. Courtesy from the East African Tea Trade Association.

Charity Seleina Kisotu

Charity Seleina Kisotu, 39, Chaired the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) board of trustees before her appointment was revoked. She had replaced the Current Trade and Industrialization CS Adan Mohammed.

Initially, she was a member of the Nairobi City County Public Service Board and the chairperson of the Audit and ICT Committee of the board.

She also served as Chief Accountant at the National Water Corporation.

She holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration – Finance Management from Moi University and is a Certified Public Accountant of Kenya (CPAK) from Strathmore University.

Rachel Bessie Dzombo

Mrs Dzombo was born on 20th September 1957 in Kilifi District. She joined the Civil Service in November1982 as an Assistant Secretary and rose through the ranks  to become Deputy  Chief Finance Officer  in December 2000. She was appointed Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services in December 2005 until April 2008. She was responsible for efficient delivery of services in the ministry and also prudent management of public funds. In 2006, She was awarded the Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (CBS) for her exemplary and dedicated service.

She is the Executive Director of Danicha Investment Limited and  a Board Member of Kenya Women Finance Trust Limited which joined in July 2008. She has been eyeing the Kilifi County Women Representative seat in the 2017 General Elections.

Ravi Ruparel

Mr.Ravi Ruparel is an International Development Advisor with over twenty eight years’ experience. He is an expert in Financial and Private Sector Development with a strong focus on Financial Inclusion. Currently, he is a senior policy advisor at Financial Sector Deepening Kenya(FSD-Kenya) and also an advisor – Trade and Competitiveness at The World Bank.

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