President Samia Suluhu Hassan announced on January 29, 2026, the appointment of Dr. Rahma Salim Mahfoudh as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Tanzania (BOT). In her new role, she will be responsible for Administration and Internal Controls (AIC) at the Central Bank.
Prior to this appointment, Dr. Mahfoudh served as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, a position she had held for about two months following her appointment by President Hussein Mwinyi. She had also served as Executive Secretary of the Zanzibar Planning Commission.
Dr. Mahfoudh becomes the third woman in the history of the Bank of Tanzania to hold the position of Deputy Governor. Her appointment follows that of Sauda Msemo, who was appointed Deputy Governor by President Samia on June 1, 2022. The first woman to serve in this role was the current Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Natu El-Maamry Mwamba, who was appointed in 2011.
There are four Deputy Governors at the Bank of Tanzania, and their tenure of office is statutorily limited to a term of two to five years. Deputy Governors are integral members of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank, together with the Governor. The Board of Directors is the highest decision-making body of the Bank of Tanzania.
Other members of the Board include a representative from the Ministry of Finance of the United Republic of Tanzania and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance of the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar.
In addition, the Board comprises four non-executive directors and a Board Secretary. The non-executive directors are Nassor S. Ameir, who also serves as Director of the Zanzibar Social Security Fund (ZSSF); Ngosha S. Magonya, a long-serving executive in the Ministry of Finance; Professor Esther Ishengoma, a lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam; and Esther Manyesha.
