Lusaka - Zambia's President Edgar Lungu on Friday appointed a prominent economist and a World Bank director, Denny Kalyalya, as the country's new central bank governor, his office said.
Kalyalya is leaving the World Bank where he has been the executive director in charge of 22 African countries to join the Bank of Zambia.
Before going to the World Bank, he had served as the deputy governor at the Zambian central bank.
"Your experience and knowledge in the sphere of economics should stand you in good stead to help our country at a time when we face enormous challenges largely on account of external factors," Lungu said in a statement.
He will replace Michael Gondwe who has been at the helm of the bank since 2011 and the government said will be reassigned.
Lungu who came to power in January elections after the death of president Michael Sata late last year, this week unveiled his full cabinet.
The country is the world's seventh largest producer of copper -- a metal used in plumbing and heating pipes, and electrical and telecommunications wiring.
AFP
