Incoming Treasury CS Njuguna Ndung’u has committed to instill sustainable reforms in his new office in a bid to stabilize the economy which has been battered by multiple shocks.
Speaking during the handover ceremony at the National Treasury building, Ndung’u noted that he is ready to work with the team at the exchequer and instill targeted reforms that will enable the country to respond better to future shocks.
“If you find yourself in a hole, you need to stop digging and get out of the hole. To be able to do this you need to think of sustainable solutions,” said Ndung’u.
He noted that to develop the reforms the team will need to ask questions such as how do we salvage the country’s fiscal space and how do we consolidate our fiscal position? “If you do not have a consolidated fiscal position you cannot finance development that is required. Even so, most people do not understand this because they have urgent needs, hence why you may see many complaints,” he said.
Ndungu said that some challenges in the economy will require reforms while others will need the team to rethink because every challenge has a different solution, which they will develop.
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As he took over the office from outgoing Treasury CS Ukur Yatani he noted that his priority at the moment is saving lives considering the drought situation in the country.
In his outgoing speech, Yatani said he was deeply indebted to his colleagues led by Principal secretaries alongside Director Generals who have gone over and above to ensure the economy remains stable despite the turbulence.
“I also want to thank multilateral lenders such as the IMF and government institutions that supported us by upholding all the Treasury policy stances in the delivery of their mandates,” he said.
Yatani told Ndungu that some of the initiatives he will take up such as the Hustler Fund already have seeds at the exchequer in form of the Biashara Fund, therefore his work will be to germinate them.
“We amalgamated the Youth Development Fund, the Women Fund, and the Uwezo Fund and called it the Biashara Fund to target SMEs. This is something you (Ndungu) need to run with because the appropriate legal legislation and regulatory frameworks are in place. You do not need to go to Parliament to remodel it,” he said. He wished Ndungu all the best as he takes over from him.
Ndungu was part of President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza strategy team assisting in crafting his bottom-up economic model strategy ahead of the August 9 general election.
He took part in developing the economic model which is expected to ensure more resources are invested in the grassroots, greater economic participation, and an expansion of the tax base.
Njuguna takes over an economy that has been battered by the economic effects of Covid-19 albeit slowly recovering amidst accumulating debt and soaring global inflation.
According to Treasury, as of June 2022, Kenya’s debt stood at Sh8.6 trillion. Njuguna served as the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya for two consecutive four-year terms, from March 2007 until March 2015.
SOURCE: Capital business