Former Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), Charles Chuka, has died.
RBM spokesperson Ralph Tseka has confirmed the sad news.
He added that RBM mourns with the Chuka family and remembers Chuka as “a brilliant and jovial Governor.”
Chuka served as Central bank governor for five years. He was appointed in April, 2012 after Dr. Joyce Banda became president and he left the role in 2017, about three years into the presidency of Professor Peter Mutharika.
Chuka previously worked for the World Bank Group from 2003–2009 where he was a Senior Advisor to the Executive Director at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC. From 2010 to 2012, he worked as the CEO of Malawi Telecommunications Ltd.
The Economist held Bachelor of Social Science (Economics and Sociology) degree from the University of Malawi and a Master of Philosophy in monetary economics from the University of Glasgow.
Retired Chief Justice Dunstain Mwaungulu has since paid tribute to Chuka, saying he knew him in 1976 at Chancellor College and when Chuka became RBM Governor they debated about the economy.
“He could not wriggle himself out of my shrieking criticism of his abrupt change from Bingu’s quantitative easing to Joyce Banda’s tight monetary policy. It subjected Malawi to prolonged short term vagaries that could have been solved in the long run by sticking to one approach,” wrote Mwaungulu on Facebook.