Treasury jobs on the line as Kenya awaits new faces

By Jackson Okoth

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s new administration will be under close scrutiny in the coming days.

This is even as the new regime goes about making crucial appointments to its first cabinet in the new dispensation.

Under special focus will be the person appointed to the position of Cabinet Secretary at Treasury. Speculation is already rife within the social media, private conversations behind closed doors as well as word on the street on who is likely to get this plum job.

A huge task faces whoever becomes the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Finance, given the high expectations from the public after the conclusion of last month’s polls.

“The first job for the Cabinet Secretary of Finance will be to re-organise the Treasury and ensure all duplicated positions are removed,” said Kariithi Murimi, a risk analyst.

Abolishing positions

Cleaning up a bloated bureaucracy at the Treasury will also involve scraping of some positions and departments.

“For instance, creation of the Office of Controller of Budget means that the present position of director of budget will have to be phased out,” said Murimi.

At present, nearly all ministries have chief finance officers — whose main responsibility is procurement. In a devolved system of government, some of these responsibilities have been shifted to the counties.

The release of funds is now the responsibility of controller of budget who approves all procurement. “Nearly all ministries have secretaries, who are basically individuals who were appointed to reward certain political interests. These positions will be redundant owing to the fact that there is a full time Cabinet Secretary and the Principal Secretary,” observed Murimi. Treasury will also be expected to issue guidelines that will enable it have oversight role over how funds are utilised and public projects executed at counties.

The occupant of this office will also oversee implementation of both national and county budgets. He or she will run Kenya’s public finance policy including with collecting taxes and managing public debt.

On the list of senior managers at Treasury, who positions will be reconfigured include that of Finance Secretary currently occupied by Mutua Kilaka, Economic Secretary headed by Dr Geoffrey Mwau, Investment Secretary under Esther Koimett, Pensions Secretary and Director of Pensions Anne Mugo.

The Economic Secretary at the Treasury is responsible for fiscal policy and monetary issues. Others are financial, private sector and governance issues. The person is also an alternate to the PS Treasury at various boards and committees including Central Bank of Kenya, Kenya Revenue Authority, Capital Markets Authority, Monetary Policy Advisory Committee and a member of the Committee of Experts on Vision 2030. Koimett has headed divestiture programmes of all state owned firms as well as reforming all public enterprises in the country.

As pensions secretary, Mugo, seconded from the Retirement Benefits Authority advises the Government on public pensions policy for the schemes.

  These schemes include the cover for retired Presidents, Parliament, armed forces, civil service, disciplined services, judiciary, teachers, State corporations and closed schemes.

Names approval

All eyes will now be on Parliament and the Senate when both houses resume business. This is when they hold sittings to approve names of those nominated to occupy various cabinet positions.

 Unlike in the past when cabinet ministers were picked from Parliamentarians, President Uhuru Kenyatta will select individuals outside the national legislative assembly.

The list of frontrunners whose names feature on social media include Dr Haron Sirima, the deputy governor at Central Bank of Kenya, Barclays Bank of Kenya outgoing Chief Executive Officer Mr Adan Mohamed  , James Mwangi, chief executive and managing director, Equity Bank Group and Kenya Airways Chief Executive Mr Titus Naikuni.

Others are State House insider and Presidential Advisor Nancy Gitau and Treasury’s Head of Governance Ms Anne Waiguru. Also on the list is former Kenya Commercial Bank  Chief Executive Martin Oduor-Otieno, a known reformer who has managed to turn around the fortunes of KCB and Dr Julius Kipngetich, chief operating officer-Equity Bank.

Dr Sirima is seen by many as an insider who is likely to clinch the post, having cut an image at the Central Bank of Kenya.

Mwangi, another possible pick has a reputation as a master of fiscal and monetary issues who can work with leaders on both sides of the aisle.

 He has been able to pull Equity brand from a building society to the most profitable players in the banking industry.  He is also a member of the Vision 2030 secretariat and a plain talker, something that has helped him earn many awards, making him perhaps Kenya’s most decorated bank chief executive.

Dr Sirima is seen as the architect of the Public Finance Management Act, a key piece of legislation that provides a framework governing the budgeting process as well as public finance within national and county governments.

 His tenure at the treasury allows him to have an inside knowledge on how fiscal and monetary policy mix affects State  coffers.