Kenya President Keeps Treasury Chief as He Builds Government

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta retained his Treasury and energy chiefs as he begins building a government with the task of reuniting East Africa’s biggest economy after months of electoral uncertainty.

Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich and Energy Secretary Charles Keter will remain in their posts, as will the head of the Tourism Ministry, Najib Balala, and Information and Communications Secretary Joseph Mucheru. Kenyatta also named Fred Matiang’i as interior minister in a televised address on Friday, saying he will announce other appointments at a later date.

Kenyatta, who was sworn in for a second term on Nov. 28 after three months of political uncertainty including a rerun presidential vote, needs to bring together a country so politically divided that some are advocating independence for areas that support the opposition.

Kenya, the world’s biggest exporter of black tea, also needs to revive growth that’s forecast by the World Bank to slow to 4.9 percent this year, the slowest pace since 2011.

“Kenyatta is walking on eggshells because he has to balance various interests while trying to secure his legacy,” according to Dismas Mokua, an independent analyst in the capital, Nairobi.

While the president needs to settle “political debts” to other politicians who helped secure his re-election, his deputy William Ruto, who has ambitions for the top job in 2022, probably wants a cabinet of his allies, Mokua said by phone after the announcement.