Mauritius President Names Thakoor as Central Bank Governor

(Bloomberg) -- The Mauritian government appointed a new governor and second deputy of the central bank, changes that are aimed at bringing an end to months of internal wrangling at the institution.

Priscilla Muthoora Thakoor will begin a three-year term at the helm of the Bank of Mauritius on Sept. 29, President Dharambeer Gokhool said in a statement on Thursday. The first woman to be appointed to the post, she replaces Rama Krishna Sithanen, who announced last weekend that he plans to resign. 

Thakoor, 45, joined the International Monetary Fund in 2009 and has held various posts within the Washington-based lender. She joined the IMF’s Mauritius-based Africa Training Institute as resident adviser on macroeconomic and financial policies in 2023 before returning to Washington. She holds an doctorate in economics from the University of Oxford.

As governor, Thakoor will have to halt internal conflict at the bank, regain public trust in the institution and refocus it on fulfilling its mandate to contain inflation and ensure financial stability in the Indian Ocean island nation. She’ll also have to tackle allegations that bank decisions were being influenced by politically connected individuals and that some of its officials were party to nepotism.

Thakoor wasn’t immediately available for comment. 

“Through these appointments, the government is sending a strong and positive signal after the recent turmoil and will bring the much-required serenity to the central bank,” said Manisha Dookhony, chief executive officer of investment advisory firm Terramont Capital Partners. “Naming a seasoned central banker as second deputy governor brings the required expertise to deal with the broader regulatory issues.”

Gokhool named Ramsamy Chinniah, 63, as the bank’s second deputy governor. He replaces Gerard Sanspeur, who quit at the end of August.

Chinniah has worked at the Bank of Mauritius for more than four decades and was formerly a director of its supervision department.

“It’s a challenging job as the central banking system across the world is fast evolving,” he said by phone interview from Port Louis, the capital. 

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--With assistance from Monique Vanek.

(Updates with economist’s comment in sixth paragraph.)

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