Dr Judith Kateera, a national of the Republic of Zimbabwe, is the Deputy Executive Secretary for Corporate Affairs at the SADC Secretariat since October 2023. She was sworn at the 43rd SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Luanda, Republic of Angola, on 17th August 2023.
Dr. Kateera is a renowned economist with a wealth of experience in public service, spanning over thirty-five years. Dr Kateera has served the Government of Zimbabwe in various capacities, collaborating with the private sector, Development Financial Institutions (DFIs), the diplomatic community and grassroots people. Among her key roles in the Government of Zimbabwe, Dr Kateera, served as a Principal Director in charge of Finance and National Budget in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and served as Permanent Secretary in various portfolios covering Ministries of Economic Planning and Development; Office of the Vice President; Secretary for Economic Planning and Investment Promotion.
During her career in public service, Dr. Kateera was twice in the Office of the President and Cabinet with responsibility over Economic Research and Policy Analysis and also served as the first Permanent Secretary for Presidential Affairs, Monitoring and Implementation of Government Programmes and Permanent Secretary for Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, before returning to Treasury as Policy Secretary. She doubled as Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the Government of Zimbabwe. From the National Treasury, she was seconded to the African Development Bank (AfDB) where she served as an Executive Director responsible for the Africa Group II constituency comprising Angola, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe from 2019 to 2023.
Prior to her appointment as the SADC Deputy Executive Secretary for Corporate Affairs, she served as a Policy Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
Dr Judith Kateera holds a PhD in Economics from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Master of Arts degree in Development Economics from the Centre for Development Economics (CDE) at Williams College, Massachusetts United States of America and Bachelor of Science degree in Economics (Honors) from the University of Zimbabwe.