Dr. Kamau Thugge, CBS, the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, has been named the Central Bank Governor of the Year by the African Banker Magazine.
Dr Thugge received the award on Tuesday, May 28, during the African Bankers Awards Event in Nairobi on the margins of the 2024 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank.
In its commendation, the African Banker Magazine emphasized the numerous challenges faced by central bank governors globally over the past year.
The magazine highlighted Governor Thugge’s role in stabilizing markets in the country and the resilience of the Kenyan Shilling exhibited in its recent performance against other currencies including the Dollar.
“Despite the challenges, during your tenure in office, you have successfully stabilized markets and instilled confidence in the Kenyan economy. The markets have responded by showing their faith and support for the Kenyan shilling, and the banking sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience, positioning itself as a true regional leader.” the citation further read.
The Awards Committee also highlighted Dr. Thugge’s strategic efforts in addressing market failures and fostering economic growth.
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“In granting you this accolade, the Committee recognized your recent achievements as Central Bank Governor and recognized the strategic role the Central Bank is playing to address market failures and to help put the economy on the right footing to stimulate growth,” the Committee noted.
Dr. Kamau Thugge on Kenyan Market
Early march this year, Central Bank of Kenya Governor Kamau Thugge announced that Blackrock had invested in the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) to boost its performance that had dwindled in the previous year.
The total capitalization at the NSE had fallen to the lows of Ksh1.3 trillion, which was a record low for a period of eleven years.
However, recent recoveries gained by the Kenyan Shilling against the United States’ dollar could have restored investor confidence in the Kenyan market, with CBK Governor Kamau Thugee citing it as one of the factors that attracted BlackRock.
According to Thugge, the recent gains registered in the stock exchange market is attributable to the entry of the giant asset management company.
BlackRock Investment
The CBK Governor who was addressing bankers at the event said that BlackRock had chosen Kenya as one of its investment destinations after keeping off Africa’s markets for close to five years.
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“The other day I met BlackRock Asset managers. They came to my office and wanted to know how the economy was doing and said they had kept away from Africa for the last four years but now they had identified 10 countries globally where they think they can start investing,” Dr Thugge told bankers at an event.
“Blackrock actually made an investment into the equities and if you are keen and have been looking at what it is happening in the stock market, you can actually see it has been going up,” Thugee said in the meeting as quoted by The Business Daily.
While accepting the award, the Governor expressed his gratitude to the Board, Monetary Policy Committee, Management, and staff of the Central Bank of Kenya.
The Governor added “This recognition is an affirmation of Kenya’s sound macroeconomic policies. To this end, I must recognize His Excellency the President, Dr. William Samoei Ruto, who has provided overall leadership,” Dr. Kamau Thugge said.
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