NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 11- Micah Cheserem has resigned as chairman of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) following his appointment as the chairman of the Commission on Revenue Allocation by President Mwai Kibaki on December 30, 2010.
Mr Cheserem said he took the decision in order to comply with the requirements of the new Constitution which provides that a member of a commission shall not hold any other office.
“I wish to thank the President for appointing me as CMA Chairman and I also appreciate the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta and his team at the Treasury, the CMA Board and Management and all stakeholders for supporting me,” he said while making the announcement.
According to Section 250 of the new Constitution, a member of a commission, or the holder of an independent office, unless ex-officio or part-time, shall not hold any other office or employment for profit, whether public or private.
The former Central Bank of Kenya Governor was appointed in February 2009 to chair the regulatory body and restore investor confidence in capital markets.
At the time of his appointment, the stock market’s credibility was going downhill as demonstrated by the collapse of two rogue stockbrokerage firms which saw investors lose millions of shillings.
Under his tenure, the CMA has tried to ensure an orderly and efficient capital markets.
The regulator has also strived to increase financial literacy and public awareness initiatives among the investors in order to enable them to make better consumer choices.
