![Betchani Tchereni is a Malawian economist and pundit who provides opinions on economic issues](https://malawi24.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Betchani-Tchereni-750x400.webp)
President Lazarus Chakwera has appointed economics professor Betchani Tchereni as the Secretary to the Treasury in the Ministry of Finance.
Tchereni, a renowned economist who has for years been providing insight economic commentary through the local media, was working as the executive dean of the School of Business and Economic Sciences at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Science (MUBAS).
Tchereni s also the current president of the Economics Association of Malawi (ECAMA). He previously worked in Betchani as Trade Officer within the Ministry of Trade and Industry before moving to South Africa where he worked as a lecture. Tchereni holds a PhD in Economics from the North-West University in South Africa and a Master of Arts (Economics) from the University of Malawi.
At the Ministry of Finance, Tchereni replaces MacDonald Mafuta Mwale who has returned to the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) where he has been appointed as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank. Before he was seconded to the Treasury, Mwale was the Director of Research and Statistics at RBM.
The change at Ministry of Finance comes as the ministry is collecting opinions from various stakeholders on the 2024/25 budget which is expected to be presented in Parliament in March this year.