Following her vetting, the National Assembly Finance and Planning Committee has approved the appointment of Susan Jemutai Koech as the second Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). President William Ruto had in February nominated her to the role.
Koech is a career banker who switched lanes and took on various public roles, serving as a Principal Secretary in ministries including Tourism and Wildlife and East African Community, ASAL and Regional Development.
She is the holder of a a doctorate in business administration from Moi University. Before taking on public office, she was a banker working as head of the Nairobi region for Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group.
“I attribute my career progress over the years, to God’s grace, strong support system from my family, hard work, strong intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, and ability to deliver results through people,” she stated during her vetting.
She began life in the civil service a Principal Secretary in the State Department for Wildlife in 2018. On her pages, she describes herself as an ‘anticipatory leader, reflective and self-critical’.
Koech states that during her time in the State Department for Wildlife, she pushed for financial sustainability for the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
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She went on to serve as a Principal Secretary in the ministry of East African Community (EAC), Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), and regional development.
Her career was stained after being charged with corruption over controversial tenders issued for the construction of the Kimwarer and Arror dams, projects in which billions of shillings in taxpayer funds were feared to have been lost. She was however turned into a State witness alongside former Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge in the prosecution of former Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich.
During her vetting for the CBK role, she told parliamentarians that she would seek to bring back the interest rate cap to lower the cost of credit, and to help establish a ‘functional and vibrant interbank forex market’, stating that the current forex market had failed.
“I want to see a functional and vibrant interbank forex market. Right now, it is not working,” she stated.
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