By Kiboga Warandah
I have always believed that the appointment of John Mbadi as the cabinet secretary that came at a time when Kenya’s economic ship was sailing through turbulent waters was a good decision by the president considering how he has performed so far.
We have been experiencing rising debt, inflationary pressures, public discontent over opaque fiscal policies and a widening gap between policy and people the appointment of John Mbadi as Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury was not just a political decision; it was a national imperative.
A seasoned politician with a deep understanding of finance, accounting, economics and governance, Mbadi arrived at the Treasury not as a bureaucrat removed from the people, but as a leader forged in the furnace of public service.
His ability to balance the delicate line between politics and administration has been nothing short of transformative.
While most technocrats are often swallowed by the complexity of economic planning or paralyzed by the rigidity of political interests, Mbadi has skillfully navigated both realms; bringing policy to the people, and people into policy.
Perhaps one of Mbadi’s most incredible feats is his oversimplification of financial and economic gobbledygook.
For decades, fiscal policy was viewed by the average Kenyan as the domain of elites — spoken in acronyms, models, and concepts that excluded the majority.
Mbadi changed that.
He introduced “People’s Budget,” summaries of the national budget communicated into Kiswahili for the locals complete with relatable analogies, and town-hall explainer sessions.
He launched a Treasury communication unit specifically tasked with converting economic data into digestible content for radio, social media, and rural forums.
Now, Kenyans no longer wait for commentators to explain the budget to them; they hear it from the Treasury itself, clearly and directly.
In doing so, he restored the link between public finances and public participation.
When he took office, inflation was threatening household stability.
Prices of basic commodities had risen beyond the reach of many.
Mbadi initiated bold, well targeted interventions: subsidies were redirected to production rather than consumption; strategic reserves were managed transparently; and import-export policies were recalibrated to favor local markets.
Today, inflation is within manageable bands.
The cost of living is more predictable, and confidence in the government’s ability to manage economic shocks has returned.
Even more significantly, taxation long viewed as punitive and arbitrary is now better understood and gradually being accepted.
Mbadi’s overhaul of the tax code wasn’t just administrative; it was psychological.
He pushed for civic tax education in Bunge la wananchi who to him are wenye nchi, social and mainstream media, and expanded digital platforms for easier filing and payment, and held national tax dialogue forums.
Through this, Kenyans have begun to see taxes not as a burden, but as a collective contribution to national development.
Transparency has always been a buzzword, but under Mbadi, it became policy.
He opened the Treasury to public scrutiny, setting up online and physical interactive avenues where citizens can track expenditure in real time, from major infrastructure projects, national government outlay, down to county-level disbursements.
For the first time, the Annual Financial Statements are no longer hidden in 500-page PDF documents, but are accessible, summarized, and interpreted for the average citizen.
Budget-making is no longer an exclusive affair in Nairobi.
Mbadi institutionalized public hearings of what would be styled “treasury mashinani” ensuring that resource allocation reflects the ambitions and aspirations of the people.
Civil society and media are now partners in economic oversight a radical departure from previous cultures of secrecy.
Mbadi’s vision for Kenya isn’t short-term; it’s strategic and generational.
He understands that moving Kenya to a middle-income economy is not a miracle but a process — one that requires consistency in leadership, clarity in communication, and courage in execution.
As he marks a year in this coveted office, he has laid the foundation: stabilizing the macroeconomic environment, restoring fiscal discipline, bridging the gap between government and citizens, and making economic literacy a national agenda.
But transformation takes time. Kenya now needs more years of Mbadi to deepen these reforms, embed them into institutional culture, and ensure that we do not slip back into the opaque, top-down, inefficient systems of the past.
Under his stewardship, the Treasury is no longer a fortress it is a forum.
The economy is no longer an abstract idea it is a lived experience.
And public finance is no longer a mystery it is a shared responsibility.
John Mbadi is not just a Cabinet Secretary.
He is the economic bridge between Kenya’s potential and its prosperity.
And we must walk that bridge with him into a future where every Kenyan is part of the economy, not just a spectator.
The writer is a public policy analyst and commentator on economic issues.
