Agribank’s newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Dr Raphael Karuaihe, on Wednesday said he will focus on operational efficiency during his first 100 days at the helm of the financial institution.
Karuaihe said stakeholder engagement will also be one of the key areas to be prioritised, as he wants to listen to farmers, clients, the shareholder, and other key stakeholders to understand their perspectives and expectations.
“I am cognisant of the harsh realities in our country, the extreme drought, floods and other calamities hurting farmers, who are our clients, and therefore necessitating urgent and timely customer service.This will assist me in developing the roadmap towards the fulfillment of the institutional mandate,” he said.
Karuaihe noted that improvement of operational efficiencies will be inclusive of cost containment measures, and enhancement of customer service at the Bank.
“I must say, I found a very well-run institution, and there is no need for a crisis management, I will however strive to improve on what I found,” he said.
The Agribank CEO also aims to promote research and development to ensure that data on the Bank’s impact in the country “is well analysed and dissected for efficient planning and execution purposes,” he said adding that addressing key person’s risk and staff retention will also another areas that will occupy his time during the period, with the aim of ensuring business continuity.
Karuaihe said at the end of his 100 days period in office he will present a road map to the Board and this will detail his plan and vision for the Bank, during his tenure as CEO.
The former Head of Commodities at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Karuaihe assumed his new role as substantive CEO on the 10th of January 2022. He replaced Sakaria Nghikembua who joined Momentum Metropolitan Namibia as group CEO in August last year.
