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Composition of the Monetary Policy Committee

Mr Harvesh Kumar Seegolam - Governor and Chairperson

Currently serving his third mandate, Mr Harvesh Kumar Seegolam was appointed Governor of the Bank of Mauritius with effect from the 1st of March 2020. He was appointed Chairperson of the Financial Services Commission – Mauritius on the 3rd of July 2024.

Since his appointment as Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, Mr Seegolam has focused on strengthening and modernising the Mauritian banking landscape.

His assuming office at the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit Mauritius drove Governor Seegolam to take key decisions that have mitigated the impact of the pandemic on the banking industry, and avoided contagion to the real economy. The criticality of the timely and bold decisions taken by Governor Seegolam to contribute to salvaging the Mauritian economy was recognised by leading international financial publications.

Governor Seegolam’s valuable contribution to the Mauritian banking sector was acknowledged at the highest level when he was elevated on the 12th of March 2024 to the rank of Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean, which is the highest civilian award granted in the Republic of Mauritius.

The initiatives implemented by Mr Seegolam won him several accolades. On 4 January 2023, The Banker conferred upon him the 2023 Central Bank Governor of the Year for Africa Award. In 2022, he received the Best Central Bank Governor-Africa Award from Finance Derivative Magazine. In the Global Finance Central Banker Report Cards 2022, Governor Seegolam was ranked as one of the world’s leading central bankers with an A-rating in recognition of the appropriateness of his actions and decisions pertaining to monetary policy. In 2021, Governor Seegolam won the Central Bank Governor of the Year for Africa Award from the African Leadership Magazine and was placed among the Top 40 Digital Leaders of Africa by The Africa Report.

Testimony to Governor Seegolam’s focus on consistent performance on the front of financial stability and innovation, the Bank of Mauritius won the Best Central Bank- Sub-Saharan Africa 2022 Award and the 2021 Best Financial Services Institutions award from Finance Derivative. The Bank of Mauritius has also won the 2021 Best Financial Maintenance Stability Firm and Leading Cashless Payment Platform of the Year Award from MEA Markets.

Governor Seegolam has made of the modernisation and the greening of the banking and financial landscape a key element on his agenda. He is at the inception of the Bank of Mauritius Climate Change Centre launched in October 2021 and of the Future of Banking Report launched in September 2022, and which paves the way to the development of the banking sector in the coming years. Mr Seegolam is equally driving several milestone projects, amongst which the launch of a CBDC and the implementation of a new Monetary Policy Framework.

Mr Seegolam has also played an instrumental role on the removal of Mauritius from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list. He was the Head of the Mauritian delegation in discussions with the FATF and the Co-Chair of the AML/CFT Core Group established in that regard. Mr Seegolam is also the Chairperson of the Interagency Coordination Committee regrouping all competent authorities in the endeavour to defend and uphold the repute of the Mauritius jurisdiction and fight exposures to money laundering and financing of terrorism risks.

Mr Seegolam holds several positions in international and national high-level committees. He currently is the Alternate Governor for the Republic of Mauritius at the International Monetary Fund. He is also a member of the SADC Committee of Central Bank Governors and of the COMESA Committee of Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors. He is equally the Chairperson of the Governing Board of the Mauritius Regional Centre of Excellence supported by the OECD, and a member of the National Sanctions Committee for implementing targeted sanctions and other measures imposed by the United Nations Security Council.

Mr Seegolam is the current Chairperson of the Groupe des Superviseurs Bancaires Francophones. He also holds the following positions:

  • Governing Board member of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation
  • Member of the Financial Stability Board Regional Consultative Group for Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Member, OECD's Blockchain Expert Policy Advisory Board
  • Member, OECD's Committee on Financial Markets
  • Member, Financial Stability Committee, Mauritius
  • Member, National Sanctions Committee, Mauritius
  • Member, Financial Services Consultative Committee, Mauritius
  • Co-Chair, National Core Group on AML/CFT, Mauritius
  • Member, Plenary Meetings, Network of Central Bank and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System
  • Representative of the Bank in the Group of International Financial Centre Supervisors
  • Representative of the Bank in the General Assembly and Council meetings of the Islamic Financial Services Board.
  • Member of the Regulatory Committee on FinTech & Innovation Driven Financial Services of Mauritius.

Prior to his appointment as Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, Mr Seegolam was the Chief Executive of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) since July 2017. In his position at the FSC, Mr Seegolam spearheaded numerous national initiatives with respect to the development and regulation of Financial Services. He has equally been instrumental in delivering on the national strategy with respect to the 10-year Blue Print for the financial services sector.

Driving a culture of innovation throughout the industry, Mr Seegolam has been at the forefront of the establishment of the National Regulatory Sandbox Licence Committee in 2018, and is a member of the Mauritius Artificial Intelligence Council.

Over the last years, Mr Seegolam has been a key contributor and a member of various technical committees at the level of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He has driven the setting up of the FSC Regional Centre of Excellence – an initiative launched in collaboration with the OECD, aiming at furthering capacity building and research in the fields of financial services, competition and digital finance in Sub Saharan Africa for regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies.

Prior to joining the FSC, Mr Seegolam launched and ran the Financial Services Promotion Agency with the mandate of promoting Mauritius as an International Financial Centre. Mr Seegolam has equally been part of the strategic team leading the Board of Investment of Mauritius, now the Economic Development Board, where he was in charge of the Innovation, Technology and Services cluster.

Governor Seegolam holds a BSc (Hon) in Economics and an MSc in International Finance, in addition to several other qualifications in accountancy and finance. He is an alumnus of the London School of Economics and Political Science, the University College London, Durham University, as well as of the SKEMA Grande Ecole de Commerce in France.

Mr Mardayah Kona Yerukunondu - First Deputy Governor

Mr Mardayah Kona Yerukunondu was appointed, with effect from the 24th of February 2020, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mauritius (Bank) by His Excellency the President of the Republic upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Mr Yerukunondu also sits on the Monetary Policy Committee. He was appointed, with effect from the 12th of May 2020, as Chairperson of the Board of the Financial Services Commission, Mauritius. He is presently a member of the COVID-19 Projects Development Committee.

Prior to his appointment as First Deputy Governor, Mr Yerukunondu was, as from the 1st of March 2019, the country’s first Ombudsperson for Financial Services.

Mr Yerukunondu is a seasoned central banker. He joined the Bank in 1977 and acquired expertise in areas ranging from central bank administration, supervision, regulation, policy and compliance. Across his career at the Bank as a member of the Senior Management Committee, Mr Yerukunondu has filled several key positions including that of Assistant Director-Legal, Director of Change Management and Legal Section and Assistant Secretary of the Bank before his appointment as Ombudsperson for Financial Services.

Mr Yerukunondu has played a pivotal role in the modernization of the country’s banking and financial services framework. He has extensively contributed in the drafting of the Bank of Mauritius Act 2004 and the Banking Act 2004. He has equally participated in the principles underlying the Ombudsperson for Financial Services Act and its drafting.

As an ardent defender of the image and repute of the Mauritian jurisdiction, Mr Yerukunondu has played a key role as official delegate in several country missions focusing on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism. Mr Yerukunondu has also formed part of national delegations of the ESAAMLG Task Force of Senior Officials. He is currently a member of the Statutory Core Group for Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation.

Mr Yerukunondu has participated in discussions in high-level fora including the International Monetary Fund, the Bank for International Settlements, the World Bank Treasury and Reserves Advisory & Management Partnership, the European Monetary Union and the Islamic Financial Services Board Summit.

Mr Yerukunondu was the Chairperson of the Steering Committee set up by Government to study the social and legal aspects of Islamic financial services. He was equally the Chairperson of the Committee set up by the Bank which saw the implementation of the Credit Information Bureau in Mauritius.

Mr Yerukunondu is a sworn barrister. He holds a LLB (Honours) from the University of London as well as qualifications from the Institute of Statisticians. He has written academic papers on Islamic Finance published in March 2010 in the chronicle of the Bar Council and a manual on Banking for the Open University of Mauritius.

Mrs Hemlata Sadhna Sewraj-Gopal - Second Deputy Governor
Mrs Hemlata Sadhna Sewraj-Gopal was appointed, with effect from the 1st of March 2020, Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mauritius by His Excellency the President of the Republic upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
 
Mrs Sewraj-Gopal joined the Bank of Mauritius in 2003. Prior to her appointment as Second Deputy Governor, Mrs Sewraj-Gopal was the Secretary to the Bank of Mauritius. In that capacity, she also acted as Secretary to the Board, Secretary to the Audit Committee, Member of the Investment Committee and Chairperson of the Tender Committee. In the course of her career, Mrs Sewraj-Gopal has overseen several key departments including Human Resources, Procurement as well as Accounting and Budgeting.  
 
Prior to joining the Bank of Mauritius, Mrs Sewraj-Gopal was Director- Corporate services at the Board of Investment (2001-2003), Financial Controller at the Mauritius Export Development and Investment Authority (1997-2001) and Manager at KPMG Mauritius (1993-1997). Mrs Sewraj-Gopal also worked for three years in London at Arthur Andersen.
 
A State Scholar, the Second Deputy Governor holds a Bachelor in Economics and Social Studies (Honours) from the University of Manchester. Mrs Sewraj-Gopal is also a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW).
Professor Sanjeev K Sobhee

Professor Sanjeev K Sobhee is currently Professor of Economics at the University of Mauritius where he is also the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academia). His teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels goes over two decades essentially in Advanced Macroeconomics, Quantitative Techniques and Public Policy. In addition, he has been actively involved in applied research areas, but not limited to, macroeconomics, public finance and sustainable development. Besides publishing in internationally refereed academic journals, Professor Sobhee has consulted for different international institutions; namely, The World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), amongst others.

Mr Lim Chan Kwong Lam Thuon Mine
Dr S Narrainen

Dr Streevarsen Narrainen is a Senior Economic Adviser at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MOFED), from 2003 to date. He was a Senior Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister of Mauritius between 1996 and 2000 and an Economic Adviser at MOFED between 1989 and 1996. Prior to 1989, he was Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Winnipeg and at the University of Manitoba in Canada. He holds a PhD in Economics from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, and specialised in Monetary Theory and Policy. He is a member of the MPC since March 2015.

Mr M M Namdarkhan

Mr Mushtaq Namdarkhan is a barrister and Senior Associate at BLC Chambers, a leading Mauritian legal practice. He specialises in corporate restructuring and insolvency, banking and finance and commercial dispute resolution. He spent time in the Equity Capital Markets, Restructuring and Insolvency, Construction Litigation and Tax groups of that firm. He holds an MA (Hons.) in Law and an LL.M (Commercial), both from the University of Cambridge. He is a member of the MPC since March 2015.

Mrs Christine Marie Isabelle Sauzier

Mrs Christine Marie Isabelle Sauzier was appointed on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Mauritius in March 2020.

As Group General Counsel of CIEL Group, Mrs Sauzier advises companies within the CIEL Group on compliance, deal structuring and shareholder matters, while also liaising with international and local lawyers in drafting, reviewing and negotiating commercial contracts and other legal documents.

Mrs Sauzier has been instrumental in dealings with regulators such as the Bank of Mauritius, the Financial Services Commission and the Stock Exchange of Mauritius. She has participated in various mergers and acquisitions for the Ciel Group with exposure to diverse industries comprising Banking, Hotels, Property, Healthcare, Private Equity, Textile, Agro Business and Fiduciary. Mrs Sauzier has equally been involved in cross-border deals in various countries notably in Sub-Saharan Africa, Indian Ocean and Asia.

Mrs Sauzier is an Attorney-at-Law with more than 25 years’ experience. She further holds a LLB (Hons) from the University of Mauritius and a Licence en Droit Privé from Université de Rennes, France.

Mrs Sauzier is a Director in various entities spanning health, property, finance and agro industry. Mrs Sauzier is a Fellow and Chairperson of The Mauritius Institute of Directors. She is also a member of the Financial Reporting Council and of the Business Mauritius Council.