Government through the Central Bank, Bank of Botswana (BoB) is expected to announce the appointment of the new Deputy Governor who is currently the BoB Head for Research and Financial Stability, Dr Tshokologo Kganetsano.
The elevation of Dr Kganetsano is part of bank’s succession plan in place as part of ensuring the smooth running of the Bank and the implementation of the Bank’s mandate. He now deputizes BoB Governor Moses Pelaelo who was appointed Governor of the Bank of Botswana effective October 21, 2016, by former the President, Dr Seretse Khama Ian Khama.
As the new Deputy Governor, Dr Kganetsano is expected to assist the Governor through maintaining the primary focus of the Bank on preservation of monetary stability, as manifested by price and financial stability and a sound and properly functioning banking and payments systems. Currently BoB, continues to uphold its role as advisor to Government, including in the formulation and implementation of the exchange rate policy and the management of foreign exchange reserves.
He has held various positions within the bank such as Deputy Director, Banking Supervision Department Bank of Botswana. He holds Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Economics @ Loughborough University From 2004 to 2007 MSc, Economics and Finance from Warwick Business School, UK from 1998 to 1999.
He has been previously tasked with conducting high quality economic research and analysis comparable to best international standards.He has been key as head of the Department as he was responsible for providing relevant and timely policy advice to both the senior management of the Bank and other stakeholders. Through his department, he has been monitoring closely the macro-economic perspective of how they might impact on the stability of the financial system.
He is expected to key in handling matters such as Botswana being placed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in the notorious list of countries grey-listed for lacking strategic Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CFT). He gets promoted at the time when the country’s economic performance is severely constrained by the impact of COVID-19 and also when the decision by the EU to include Botswana in its list of high-risk third countries may further exacerbate risks. The bank had previously stated that efforts are ongoing to implement the FATF required action plan to address the identified deficiencies.
Dr Kganetsano’s promotion is also happening when the domestic financial system continues to be resilient, characterized by generalized institutional strength and good business performance across the industry, as manifested by strong capital buffers, liquidity position and profitability.
