Dr. Mbuyamu I. Matungulu
Title: Mission Chief to Benin
Company/Organization: International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Program: African Graduate Fellowship Program (AFGRAD)
Degree: Ph.D. in Economics
Year Completed: 1986
Dr. Mbuyamu Matungulu, economist and former Finance Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was born in Lubembo, DRC. Under AAI's African Graduate Fellowship Program (AFGRAD), Dr. Matungulu received a scholarship to attend The Fletcher School at Tufts University, where he earned a Ph.D. degree in economics in 1986. After earning his doctorate, Dr. Matungulu returned to the DRC and became a professor of economics at the University of Kinshasa between 1986 and 1992. While teaching, he served as the Special Advisor to the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of DRC and Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister and to the Ministers of Economic Planning, Budget Management, Transport and Communication, and Foreign Trade.
In 1992, Dr. Matungulu joined the staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as an economist, later becoming Senior Economist and Deputy Division Chief of the Africa Department. As the IMF's Resident Representative in Cameroon, he supervised the successful implementation of the central African nation's ambitious economic reform program initiated in 1996, allowing Cameroon to reach the decision point under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), meaning that the country qualified for debt relief funding under the HIPC Initiative.
Returning to DRC, Dr. Matungulu served as the country's Finance Minister from 2001 to 2003 under President Joseph Kabila. In this capacity, he undertook a comprehensive IMF-supported reform of the Congolese economy, drastically reducing inflation and making possible resumption of growth after a decade-long contraction of the economy. During his term in office, the DRC re-established co-operation with its main multilateral and bilateral development partners, including the IMF, the World Bank and the African Development Bank, all of which had deserted the country under the Mobutu regime. Dr. Matungulu stepped down from his position in February 2003.
That same year, he returned to the IMF in Washington D.C.. During his second tenure he has served as the IMF Mission Chief to Niger as well as IMF Mission Chief to Benin, a position he currently holds.