The African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), one of the most active research and capacity-building institutions in the world, with a focus on Africa and headquartered in Kenya, has added yet another feather to its cap as an authoritative economic policy institution with the appointment of Dr Adelaide Retselisitsoe Matlanyane as the Minister of Finance in Lesotho.
The appointment comes hot on the heels of the recent appointment of the AERC Executive Director, Prof Njuguna Ndung’u, as the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Economic Planning in Kenya.
Dr Matlanyane, a member of the AERC’s Board of Directors, is a former Governor of the Central Bank of Lesotho. She served as the Governor and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Lesotho from 2012 to 31 December 2021.
While celebrating this appointment, Prof. Théophile Azomahou, Ag. Executive Director described these recent appointments to high Economic Planning and Fiscal Management leadership roles for the continental think-tank officials to be a tribute to the organization’s operating mission.
“AERC Board and Leadership celebrate the appointment of Dr Matlanyane, an accomplished economist and seasoned policy maker who has been serving on the AERC Board. Her appointment coming just weeks after Prof Njuguna Ndung’u’s naming to the Kenya Cabinet, in many ways acclaims the growing standing and role of Economic Policy leadership as a catalyst for national development,” Prof. Azomahou said.
In Lesotho, Dr Matlanyane was the first woman to head the Central Bank, having joined the Bank in 2006 as the Second Deputy Governor to oversee the research, financial markets, and operations departments. She was later promoted to the position of First Deputy Governor in 2007 and then to Acting Governor, a position she held until she was appointed Governor in 2012.
In various capacities, Adelaide has been associated with the AERC for more than 20 years. She has served as a member of the AERC Programme Committee (2008-2014) and was the Chair of the Programme Committee over the period 2010–2014, having taken over from a Tanzanian Economist, the Late Prof. Benno Ndulu. As Chair of the Programme Committee, Dr Matlanyane also served as an ex-officio member of the AERC Board. She is an AERC Alumnus of the Collaborative Training programmes.
Before her illustrious career at the Central Bank of Lesotho, Dr Matlanyane was a Lecturer in the Economics Department of the National University of Lesotho. She previously served at various Universities and regional as well as international institutions in different capacities, including as Board Member and Vice Chairman of the Board of the Lesotho Revenue Authority; Chairman of the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association; Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute (MEFMI) and a member of the Steering Committees of AFRITAC (Technical Assistance Centre) South of the IMF and Africa Training Institute (ATI). She has also served as an Economist in the African Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
She continues to serve various local and international professional institutions in varying capacities, including as a representative of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Central Bank Governors in the Financial Stability Board Consultative Group for sub-Saharan Africa; a Board Member of MEFMI. In addition, she has, and continues to lead, financial sector reforms, including modernization of payment systems, legislative changes that enable the development of the financial system, promotion of financial inclusion, modernization and strengthening of governance structures of financial institutions and advocacy for access to finance, especially for women.
Dr Matlanyane holds a PhD in Economics specialising in Macro-econometric and Economy-Wide Modelling from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, a Master’s in Economics from the University of Botswana and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the National University of Lesotho. Avance Media named her in the Inaugural List of 100 Most Influential African Women in 2019.
The African Economic Research Consortium, established in 1988, is a premier capacity-building institution in advancing research and training to inform economic policies in sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of the most active Research and Capacity Building Institutions (RCBIs) in the world, focusing on Africa. AERC’s mission rests on two premises: First, that development is more likely to occur where there is sustained sound management of the economy. Second, such management is more likely to happen where there is an active, well-informed cadre of locally based professional economists to conduct policy-relevant research. AERC builds that cadre through a programme with three primary components: research, training, and policy outreach. The organization has now emerged as a premier capacity-building network institution integrating high-quality economic policy research, postgraduate training, and policy outreach within a vast network of researchers, universities and policymakers across Africa and beyond. AERC has increasingly received global acclaim for its quality products and services and is ranked highly among global development think tanks.
