Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe, is a

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

n accountant and corporate executive, who serves as the

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whi ...

(COMESA), effective 18 July 2018. She was elected at the 20th Heads of State COMESA summit in

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

, Zambia's capital city. Immediately prior to her current assignment, she was the chairperson of ''Zambia Revenue Authority''. She replaces Sindiso Ngwenya, from

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, whose two consecutive terms in office, had expired.

Background and education

Chileshe Mpundu Kapwepwe was born in Zambia on 10 July 1958. She has a twin sister, Mulenga Mpundu Kapwepwe, who is an author and co-founder of the Zambian Women's History Museum. Chileshe Kapwepwe holds a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

and is a

Chartered Certified Accountant The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (CCA). Founded in 1904, It is now the fourth-largest professional accounting body ...

. She is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants (ACCA) of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and a Fellow of the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants (ZICA).

Career

Kapwepwe is a professional chartered accountant, with experience in the areas of governance, public policy and financial management. Her career extends over more than a quarter century in local, and international organisations, in both public and private sectors. Past assignments include as the executive director for the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

for the Africa Group One Constituency, based in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. She also served as the Deputy Minister of Finance and National Planning, in the Cabinet of Zambia. She has also served, in the past, as the managing director of the Zambia National Airports Corporation. Before that, she was the contracts manager of

Société Générale de Surveillance SGS (formerly Société Générale de Surveillance (French for ''General Society of Surveillance'')) is a Swiss multinational company headquartered in Geneva, which provides inspection, verification, testing and certification services. Its 99 ...

, based in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Kapwepwe was the first woman to serve as the chairperson of the Zambia Revenue Authority. She has also served on the board of the

Bank of Zambia The Bank of Zambia (BoZ), is the central bank of Zambia. Overview The principal responsibility of the bank is to create and implement monetary policy that will maintain the economic stability of the country. The Bank is active in promoting financ ...

, BP Zambia Plc and the Zambia Privatization Trust Fund.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kapwepwe, Chileshe 1958 births Living people Zambian accountants Zambian women accountants Zambian chief executives Alumni of the University of Bath Zambian twins Zambian women chief executives 20th-century Zambian businesspeople 21st-century Zambian businesspeople 20th-century Zambian businesswomen 21st-century Zambian businesswomen

Background and education

Career

See also

References