By Bennie Mundando
GIVE newly appointed Bank of Zambia Governor Christopher Mvunga time and he will prove his critics wrong, an energy expert, Johnstone Chikwanda has said.
Commenting on the ruckus following the appointment of Mr. Mvunga, Mr. Chikwanda says it is clear that some of his nemesis have no idea who he really is but says he is confident that Mr. Mvunga will shut up all his critics once he gets to work.
“With regard to Hon. Christopher Mvunga, a lot of people do not know the actual person. He likes carrying himself simple, basic and very socially pliable and can come down and play soccer with you and spend time laughing and he listens a lot.
“In fact he likes consultations a lot, signoff and alignment. Many people who have been bruised, got bruised because they took him lightly based on basic narratives which appear around him in social media when he is having fun with his friends and family.
“On a professional side, he is extremely deep and broad. He is very intelligent and deadline driven. He is one of the few civil servants whom I know who has an extraordinary sense of urgency and so deadline driven,” Mr. Chikwanda said.
He says Mr. Mvunga has a rich background and intellect to succeed in his new role because he is a former Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Finance which supervises the Bank of Zambia and an immediate-past Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet in Charge of Finance and Economics.
“He is coming from the banking and financial sector where he held alpha level positions in both in Zambia and South Africa. Please let’s give him chance. Mvunga will prove his critics wrong. Let’s not personalize positions. He has such a strong praxis of leadership and gravitas when he sets his hands to the plough.
“This man has a history of almost sleeping in the office until work gets done from what we hear from those close to him. With the support of the staff at Bank of Zambia and smooth transition, he will perform beyond expectations. But I can forewarn the lazy, those who talk a lot and get little done, and those who have insufficient sense of urgency, those who frustrate leadership and make things hard for them, are not going to have it easy at Bank of Zambia.
“He wants this done and done like yesterday. And in any case, no matter how educated and experienced a Central Bank Governor is, his success depends on several factors internal and external. Several African and European economies are have gone through doldrums even with the best Central Bank Governors in Place,” he said.
He says Zambia has had some of the best Bank of Zambia Governors but still went through significant challenges.
“As a country we have Vision 2030 to pursue. We have the Seventh National Development Plan (7th NDP) which is informing, guiding, directing and mentoring the developmental aspirations of our country. And Hon Mvunga was heavily involved in consultations, and validations workshops with developmental stakeholders at promulgation stage of 7th NDP and its implementation.
“He is well vested with Part II of the 7th NDP which talks about Macroeconomic Framework-Towards economic stabilization and growth, fiscal policy, monetary and financial sector polices. He was part and parcel of the architects of the 7th NDP. Let him drive. He is also part of the travelling party to the World Bank and IMF and elsewhere all the time. He is current,” he said.
I would like to encourage to pay a lot of attention to energy sector and its impact on our economy. Much of the bleeding has been because of energy poverty in the country both at electricity sector and petroleum subsector.
