Mkwezalamba bids farewell to AU
Malawian economist Maxwell Mkwezalamba (PhD) has stepped down as AU Commissioner for Economic Affairs after serving the continental body for close to eight years. He has been Commissioner for Economic Affairs since May 2004.
Speaking last week in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, during the 6th Joint Conference of Ministers of Finance, Mkwezalamba said he has good memories of serving the African Union (AU).
“I have fond memories of a great service to the continent. As I step down as chairman of this conference and AU Economic Commissioner I feel honoured to have served such a great body,” said Mkwezalamba before praising all finance ministers and central bank governors for their support rendered to him during his tenure.
Mkwezalamba’s post will be filled by Anthony Mothae Maruping (PhD), former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Lesotho to United Nations agencies in Geneva and to World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Maruping has served in various organisations in Lesotho and internationally. Prior to representing the Kingdom of Lesotho, he was the executive director at the Macro-Economic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa, which contribute towards the improvement of governance in the key areas of macroeconomic and financial management in the public sector at policy making and senior official levels.
He also served as the governor of the Central Bank of Lesotho between 1988 and 1998.
Carlos Lopes, Excutive Secretary of the United Nations Commission for Africa (Uneca) described Mkwezalamba as a man of integrity who will greatly be missed.
“Maxwell has come to the end of his tenure at the AU. We cannot ask for more but wish him prosperity and success in his future endeavours,” Lopes told The Nation.
Before being elected commissioner for Economic Affairs, Mkwezalamba served in Malawi and the United States of America (USA) in various capacities, including macroeconomist at World Bank, Malawi Country Office (between 2003 and 2004), as principal secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Malawi (2000-2003); and macroeconomist at the World Bank, Malawi Country Office (1998-2000) and country economist, World Bank, Washington, DC, USA in 1999.
