Respected economist Kariithi Murimi passes on

NAIROBI, KENYA: Kenya's business community is mourning the death of respected economist Kariithi Murimi who died last evening at his home in Nairobi's Wood Avenue estate.

Murimi described himself as CEO and Team Leader of JMG Strategy Innovations Ltd as well as a constitution and Governance expert in Strategic Risk solutions.

He had an MBA General Management from the University of Free State, was widowed and is from Kianjiru, in Central Kenya.

The cause of his death is still unknown as family and relatives still come to terms with his demise.

Murimi, who was one of the best brains in the country on matters economics, shaped debate in the country on the economic scene and was a regular commentator on topical economic issues on different media outlets.

He spoke to this writer on many issues from debt, governance, taxation to different government policies and how they affected the economy.

He was a major critic of the policies pushed by the international donor community and financing entities.

He was for example uncomfortable with over-reliance of the government on foreign aid as well as implementing policies pushed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without interrogating their intentions.

For example, he had warned that there was a salient risk in having people from just one background being in charge of all sectors of the economy.

This he said in response to a move by government to hire either intentionally or otherwise people who had a stint at the IMF.

"The IMF always has a straight jacket approach to things. If wage cuts work anywhere then it wants to implement that everywhere," Murimi, said in an earlier interview.

Mr Murimi said there is a likelihood that since most of those advising the president in financial issues have been at the IMF, it also follows that they are likely to give the same advice be it on who to appoint or how to deal with an economic crisis.

The Jubilee administration appears to place a high premium on any candidate that has had a stint at the IMF.

Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich, his deputy, Kamau Thugge, chief of staff Joseph Kinyua, and Treasury's director of economic affairs Geoffrey Mwau have all had a stint at either the World Bank and the IMF or both.

Up until his death, Murimi had served in different capacities in various public and private institutions in the country the latest being the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).

He however quit the position barely six months after he was appointed as chair of the Fund.

Though he refused to give the reasons why he left, but insiders said he fell out with a section of the board over his stance on corruption matters and how to deal with the cases.

He is also understood to have been pushed out by cartels and who were uncomfortable with his leadership style.
Several weeks before he left, Mr Murimi had been quoted saying that the NSSF board had adopted a tough anti-corruption stance on persons implicated in graft in a bid to improve the fund's battered image.