By Paul Njenga
The recent appointment of former Laikipia Governor Mr Nderitu Murithi as the chairman of the Kenya Revenue Authority can be said to be a step in the right direction.
This is purely and largely due to the former governor’s vast experience and knowledge in resource mobilization and prudent financial management.
If there is a memorable gift that our president has given to this great nation ever since he was elected, it is the latest appointment of former Laikipia governor Ndiritu Miriithi as the tax czar.
This surely indicated how Ruto’s mindset has shifted from political patronage to meritocracy; Hongera mtukufu Rais!
In a nutshell the nation at large stands to benefit immensely from this appointment in various manners and versions.
First, this man has portrayed his knowledge and understanding of the subject matter through his various initiatives as Governor Laikipia, the County was able to triple its own source revenue from a mere 460m to 1.2 billion.
Of importance to note is that this growth did not amount to increased levy fees but the broadened tax base coupled with good revenue collection management.
During his tenure he was able to steer the County’s growth and a survey conducted then stipulated that if one wanted to live long they should have stayed in Laikipia.
Over and above this the man came up with several first financial innovations: first, the County leasing program, which was not only geared towards cutting the cost of maintenance and operating the County owned equipment which actually reduced drastically by 80% but also to reduce the cost of contractual engagement and further reduce the level of pending bills in the County, while at the same time ensuring efficient and effective service delivery.
The program also minimized wastage in the government.
As if this was not enough the man also came up with the infrastructural bond, which was trashed by those who took over from him.
However, this idea meant that counties are capable of expanding their own resource envelope through such instruments and hence enhancing the current developmental agenda.
For this to be actualized there are several internal activities that the enigma did, which included;
a)Ensured steady growth in revenue collection
b)Operationalized the first-ever County revenue Board and ensured its total autonomy, hence depoliticizing revenue collection
c)Ensured professionalism in the management of the public service
d)Promoted good financial management and a good financial system with clean books of accounts
e)Promoted good stakeholder management
f)Developed the first-ever County statistical abstract for decision-making
Out of Laikipia, the former Governor has been engaged directly and indirectly by several counties in the republic all with the aim of trying to tap the wealth of knowledge that he has on the subject of his own source revenue and strengthening of the County treasuries of the regional governments.
The former governor is a guru in Public Finance Management specifically on the issue of resource mobilization.
This is exhibited in his prowess in aiding several Counties such as; Homabay, Kisumu, Nyamira, Nyandarua, and Wajir in their resolve towards the realization of their own source revenue potentials.
A case in hand is Homabay who in the financial year 2023-2024, collected an unprecedented KES 1.2 billion in Own Source Revenue (OSR) – a 235% increase, from KES 491.5 million in 2022-2023.
This is a continuous improvement since her performance was 146.4 m in 2021/22 an overall improvement of 821.9%, which is attributed to effective fiscal policies, the dedication of County staff, and the trust and cooperation of citizens but not an increase in levy or packing charges.
Going by the key success stories indicated here, this means that the country at large is going to tap a lot of benefits in having this chap heading the board of the KRA.
The board is the prima facie tasked with giving strategic directions to any organization.
In my view, a strong, professionally competent chairperson is key for the important policies and strategies to be formulated.
Governor Ndiritu Muriithi is a believer in positive economics thus the more reason why he insisted on data-driven decision making.
