Committee of Insurance, Securities and
Non-Banking Financial Authorities
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CISNA Secretariat
Rule 21 of CISNA Rules
In August 2018, the SADC Council of Ministers approved the establishment of a permanent secretariat for CISNA to be financed by the contributions from Member Authorities.
CISNA Secretariat was established on 27 May 2021, under paragraph 21of the CISNA Rules to ensure that CISNA has ongoing access to capable secretariat services to assist it in making recommendations and decisions and undertaking its functions. The CISNA Secretariat shall be hosted within a Member State by such Member Authority selected by the General Council.
Functions of the CISNA Secretariat
The CISNA Secretariat shall be headed by the Secretary General appointed by the Governance Council and shall act in accordance with the instructions of the Governance Council. The main responsibilities of the CISNA Secretariat, amongst others, shall be the following:
- To formulate CISNA’s strategy;
- To drive harmonisation and provide guidance to the Governance Council
- To achieve objectives as set out in CISNA’s strategic plan;
- To design, implement and support CISNA activities and programmes;
- To drive consumer education including the identification and assessment of consumer awareness campaigns;
- To conduct research and to develop and formulate position papers and policy proposals;
- To ensure CISNA discharges its legal and other obligations;
- To ensure implementation and maintenance of a risk management framework
- To promote efficiency to ensure CISNA operates effectively;
- To perform secretarial services for all CISNA committees and meetings;
- To review appropriateness of the organisational structure of the CISNA Secretariat on an annual basis; and
- To carry out any other function assigned by the General Council and Governance Council.
The CISNA Secretariat has to ensure reporting to the Committee of Ministers of Finance and Investment, SADC Secretariat.
Staff in the CISNA Secretariat
SECRETARY GENERAL
Ms. Brinda Harjan
Ms. Harjan is Senior Manager at the Financial Services Commission.
Brinda has been serving as Secretary General of CISNA since 2023, after serving as Acting Secretary General from January 2022. She played an instrumental role in establishing the CISNA Secretariat in Mauritius.
Brinda joined the Financial Services Commission in 2012 progressing from Manager to Senior Manager in roles related to international relations, investment funds supervision, financial stability, and the Executive Office. Before FSC, she was Financial Analyst at Aon Hewitt (2008-2012), specialising in actuarial valuation of pension funds and providing investment advisory services to the National Pension Fund.
Her career began at Business Mauritius in 2003, where she even led the Economics, Research, and Statistics department. She has also worked as consultant both locally and regionally and held director positions in two financial companies specialising in fiduciary services and investment advisory. Brinda holds a BA (Hons) Economics from the University of Delhi and MSc Financial Services Management from the University of Surrey.
Republic of Mauritius
MANAGER – MICROFINANCE AND FINANCIAL CO-OPERATIVES
Mr. Simana Chimana
Mr. Chimana is Policy Advisor at the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority.
Mr. Simana CHIMANA joined the Committee of Insurance, Securities and Non-Banking Financial Authorities (CISNA) Secretariat in November 2023, and is on secondment from the Namibia Financial Institutions Supervisory Authority (NAMFISA); an authority in Namibia responsible for the supervision and regulation of all non-bank financial institutions. Prior to the secondment, he served as a member of MIFFCO from October 2014 and as a chairperson from May 2021 to November 2023.
Having served in different capacities, at national, regional and continental levels, Simana has diverse experience in both policy and project formulation and evaluation. Simana joined NAMFISA on 10th September 2014 as a Policy Advisor, and prior to this tenure, he served at the Namibia Statistics Agency, University of Namibia, Southern African Customs Union, Bank of Namibia and the African Development Bank.
He holds an MSc and an LLM Degrees as well as two Fellowships.
Republic of Namibia
Namibia
MANAGER – CAPITAL MARKETS
Mr. Jimmy Stafwel Mwenye
Mr. Mwenye is Principal Analyst at the Reserve Bank of Malawi
Mr. Jimmy Mwenye assumed the role of Manager, Capital Markets at the Committee of Insurance, Securities and Non-Bank Financial Authorities (CISNA) since 15 January, 2024.
Prior to joining CISNA, Mr. Mwenye worked at the Reserve Bank of Malawi, where he gained over 15 years of experience in financial sector regulation and supervision. During his tenure, he held various roles, including Acting Manager of Banks Regulation, Principal Analyst for Financial Stability, Senior Economist in Economic Policy and Research, Principal Examiner/Analyst for Capital Markets and Microfinance Regulation, Senior Examiner/Analyst for Capital Markets and Microfinance Supervision, and Analyst/Examiner for Capital Markets and Microfinance Supervision.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Mwenye worked as a Treasury Dealer at Indebank Limited, one of the commercial banks in Malawi, which was later acquired by the National Bank of Malawi.
Mr. Mwenye holds a Master of Science in Investment and Finance from the University of Strathclyde, United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Accountancy degree from the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), formerly the Malawi Polytechnic. Mr. Mwenye is a World Bank/ESAAMLG trained assessor of states’ compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. Mr. Mwenye is a recipient of the Chevening scholarship award.
Malawi
MANAGER – INSURANCE AND RETIREMENT FUNDS, MEDICAL SCHEMES AND INTERMEDIARIES
Vacant
ANALYST
Ms Wardah Maryam Tasnime Beeharry
Ms Beeharry is Analyst at the Financial Services Commission.
Republic of Mauritius
ANALYST
Mr. Bhavishsingh ORGOO
Mr. ORGOO is Analyst at the Financial Services Commission.
Republic of Mauritius
Organisational Structure of the CISNA Secretariat
The Committee of Insurance, Securities and Non-Banking Financial Authorities (CISNA) was established in 1998, pursuant to Annexure 10 of the SADC Protocol on Finance and Investment as a committee of authorities responsible for the supervision of insurance, securities, and non-banking financial institutions (NBFI) in SADC Member States. CISNA is part of the Directorate of Finance, Investment and Customs of the SADC Secretariat and reports to the SADC Committee of Ministers of Finance and Investment through the Committee of Senior Treasury Officials.