Late Norman Mataruka – MEFMI Accredited Fellow and Independent Consultant

MEFMI Management and staff convey their heartfelt condolences to family and friends of Norman Mataruka who passed away in his home city of Harare in Zimbabwe, on 27 July 2020. Norman was in the first cohort of MEFMI Fellows that graduated in 2000.  He specialised in bank supervision and as part of his apprenticeship, he facilitated training on Risk Based Supervision in the MEFMI region under the guidance of the late Ms Carmencita Santos (IMF) and Mr Alphious Ncube who was the Director Financial Sector Management Programme. On his accreditation, he led risk-based supervision implementation missions in Uganda, Swaziland, Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, Liberia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Namibia.  He played a critical role in assisting central banks to develop bank supervision regulations, guidelines and manuals.  He also mentored bank supervision staff, managers and MEFMI Candidate Fellows, most of whom are now senior regulators in the region. He was well respected in the region for his commitment and passion for regulatory issues and was a good ambassador for MEFMI.

Norman will be sorely missed by colleagues at MEFMI and the many bank supervisors he interacted with across the globe.

In his own words Norman said this about the Fellows Development Programme;

“Joining the MEFMI Fellows Development Programme was a life changing experience and one of the best decisions in my professional career. The training I received and the exposure I got as well as the networks I created have taken me to the dizzy heights of my career since graduating in 2000. I owe MEFMI, and its dedicated staff, a debt of gratitude for the intensive and rigorous customised training program I went through. Mr. Bob Dobie, Senior Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, was my mentor. He facilitated my training in the USA, Europe and Africa where I was attached to six (6) Central Banks.

The Fellowship created a wonderful serendipity. Within a few months after graduating from the programme, I was promoted to the position of Manager responsible for On-site Supervision of Banks in 2001. Subsequently, I was to become the Director and Registrar of Banking Institutions at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe from 2004 to February 2020. I managed to accumulate a wealth of experience and friends across the region working with MEFMI during my 28 years at the central bank as well as the three (3) years I spent as Head of Risk with a regional investment bank.

I got plenty of opportunities to be involved in many bank supervision capacity building activities in my own institution and the region, including developing regulatory policies and laws, resolution of problem banks, risk development of financial infrastructure, as well as spearheading the development and implementation of a financial inclusion strategy.  The Fellowship training also opened the door to the opportunities I had such as rendering technical assistance and training to several African central banks in East, West, and Southern Africa under the IMF and MEFMI as a short term expert. Under MEFMI, in particular, I facilitated at various workshops on bank supervision, corporate governance, risk management, corporate restructuring and risk-based supervision of banks, among others.

Notwithstanding the exciting career I have had over the years, in February 2020 I decided to drop the supervisory wand in order to tighten my grip on family enterprises. As some of you would know, my other passions are in the tourism, construction and farming sectors. However, I am convinced I shall continue to interact with the MEFMI community, as always, in a fruitful and productive manner. Also, I advise anyone interested in pursuing excellence in their career at either the central bank or the Ministry to join the MEFMI Fellowship Program. You will not regret it!”

May his dear soul rest in peace.