News

The African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Adelaide Retselisitsoe Matlanyane as Director at Large on the AERC Board, effective 15 December 2021.

Dr. Matlanyane is the immediate former Governor and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Lesotho, a position she held from 2012 to 31 December 2021. She was the first female Governor in the history of the Bank. She joined the Bank in April 2006 as the Second Deputy Governor to oversee the research, financial markets, and operations departments. She was promoted to the position of First Deputy Governor in April 2007 and later as the Acting Governor, a position she held until her appointment as Governor. 

Adelaide has been associated with the AERC for more than 20 years in various capacities. She has served as a member of the AERC Programme Committee (2008-2014) and was the Chair of the Programme Committee over the period 2010–2014, having taken over the from the Late Prof. Benno Ndulu. In the capacity of the Chair of the Programme Committee, Dr. Matlanyane also served as an ex-officio member of the AERC Board. She is an AERC Alumnus of the Collaborative Training programmes.  

She is an accomplished economist and seasoned policy maker with vast experience in Finance. Prior to her illustrious career at the Central Bank of Lesotho, Dr. Matlanyane was a Lecturer at the Economics Department of the National University of Lesotho. She previously served at various Universities and regional and international institutions in different capacities, including as Board Member and Vice Chairman of the Board of the Lesotho Revenue Authority; Chairman of the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association; Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute (MEFMI) and a member of the Steering Committees of AFRITAC (Technical Assistance Centre) South of the IMF and Africa Training Institute (ATI). She has also served as an Economist in the African Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She continues to serve various local and international professional institutions in varying capacities, including as representative of SADC Central Bank Governors in the Financial Stability Board Consultative Group for Sub-Saharan Africa; a Board Member of MEFMI.  In addition, she has, and continues to lead financial sector reforms including modernization of payment systems, legislative changes that enable development of the financial system, promotion of financial inclusion, modernization and strengthening of governance structures of financial institutions and advocacy for access to finance, especially for women.

Dr. Matlanyane holds a PhD in Economics with specialization in Macro-econometric and Economy Wide Modelling from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, a Master’s in Economics from the University of Botswana and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the National University of Lesotho.  She was named among the Inaugural List of 100 Most Influential African Women in 2019 by the Avance Media.