Last week, President William Ruto nominated opposition MP John Mbadi to replace Prof. Njuguna Ndungu as the Cabinet Secretary of National Treasury, at a time when the ministry has been under siege.
The seasoned politician holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Nairobi and is currently serving as a nominated member of parliament. He served as Member of Parliament between 2008-2022, once served as leader of minority, and was an assistant minister between 2012-2013Before he joined politics, Mbadi worked as a senior accountant and full accountant at University of Nairobi between 1999-2005 and Finance Director at Medair East Africa.
Among the things that are likely to come up during his vetting are his thoughts on how to handle public debt, which has triggered public discontent as repayments loom and the government borrows to meet repayment needs and fill budget deficits. Other questions that’ll likely shape his vetting include his plans on pending bills, the plans by the government on VAT refunds, and how Treasury would have done the Finance Bill 2024 any differently under his leadership.
While announcing the nominations, President Ruto said that the government would propose amendments to the Public Finance Management Act and the Public Procurement and Disposal Act. He added that the state would also propose a legislative and regulatory framework to make the process of VAT refunds transparent with a view to reducing the public expenditure and direct savings to the productive areas of the economy. Such issues
Why it Matters
Mbadi is among the second batch of individuals nominated to form cabinet after the president sacked all his cabinet secretaries as part of demands by protestors calling for accountability and good governance.
In his 16 years in politics, Mbadi has been a member of the budget committee, Public Investment Committee, budget and appropriations committee, public accounts committee and House Business Committee. This experience, as well as his years as a leader in the opposition party ODM, may help him navigate the political landmines of running Treasury better than his predecessor, who is a lifelong academic and technocrat. But navigating this while keeping an eye on the health of public coffers, amidst the many issues now overlapping in the call for better governance in Kenya, may prove far more difficult.
In Mbadi’s in-tray, if he makes it through vetting and the extensive public scrutiny, will be how to fill in the revenue gap left by the rejection of the Finance Bill 2024, while balancing both budgetary constraints, revenue collection needs, expenditure needs, austerity measures, and the watchful gaze of the Bretton Woods institutions and creditors, both local and international.
LIVE BLOG: Protests Continue Despite Gov’t Concession on Finance Bill 2024 – Kenyan Wall Street – African Business and Global Finance