Gail Makenete MEFMI Accredited Fellow: Second Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Lesotho

Gail Makenete MEFMI Accredited Fellow: Second Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Lesotho

I was nominated by my Governor at the time, Mr. A.M. Maruping, to take part in the Fellows Development Programme upon inception of the predecessor to MEFMI, which was ESAIDARM, in 1994 and I was accredited in 1999.

At the time, ESAIDARM focused on debt and reserves management only and I was admitted as a Candidate Fellow in Reserves Management. My area of specialisation was Back Office Operations, because of my qualifications in accounting.

I qualified as one of the first group of ESAIDARM Fellows in Reserves Management, with others such as Mr. Elias Kasozi (Uganda) and Mr. Bigboy Masoso (Zimbabwe). We received extensive training in presentation skills and were attached at major central banks like De Nederlandse Bank (DNB). We also had international mentors to guide us through the programme. My mentor was from DNB.

Upon graduation, I was assigned to facilitate many workshops in reserves and debt management alongside international and regional experts, which helped me gain invaluable experience.  Further to this, I was a member of several in-country missions in MEFMI member countries such as Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi.   I remember that as a SWIFT operations specialist, I assisted a few central banks in the region in this area.

I joined the Fellows Programme while I was the Head of Reserves Management Division of the Central Bank of Lesotho.  I went up the ranks to the position of Head of Department from 2000 to 2011. I was subsequently appointed Second Deputy Governor of the Bank in 2012, a position which I continue to hold to date.

In my opinion, the Fellows Development Programme is very well intended, as it serves to produce regional trainers of trainers. It provided many Fellows a platform to share knowledge and skills. The fact that Fellows are also able to co-host workshops with international facilitators, further sharpens skills.

I believe in the value of the Fellows Programme and would wish MEFMI and all client institutions would continue to support it.