Kenyan President Picks Little-Known Minister as Treasury Head

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed a little-known minister as acting head of the Treasury a day after finance minister Henry Rotich was charged with corruption.

Ukur Yatani Kanacho, a former governor of the northern county of Marsabit, will also retain his role as the labor and protection minister, a position he’s held since February 2018. Kenyatta also appointed Julius Monzi Muia as principal secretary at the Treasury. He previously held a similar position at the State Department of Planning.

Kanacho holds a masters degree in public administration and policy, while Muia has a doctorate in finance.
“Very little is known about the new acting cabinet secretary and I am not sure if the market and investors will be comforted by the appointment,” Absa Bank Ltd. strategist Samantha Singh said in an emailed response to questions.

Yields for bonds due in 2024 and 2048 had lost 4 basis points to 5% and 7.71% respectively by 3:50 p.m. in Nairobi, the capital. The shilling weakened 0.2% to 104 against the dollar before the announcement was made, its lowest in nearly four years.

Former Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich and Principal Secretary Kamau Thuggeon Tuesday pleaded not guilty to allegations of irregular payments involving two planned dam projects that may have cost the government billions of shillings. Rotich, 50, is the most senior official to be targeted so far in an intensifying battle against corruption in Kenya.

Prosecutors say the Treasury negotiated a 63 billion-shilling ($609 million) commercial loan for the planned Kimwarer and Arror dams in the western Rift Valley region, an amount that was inflated by 17 billion shillings.

The scandal may hurt the government’s ability to borrow internationally to finance Kenyatta’s $25 billion plan to expand infrastructure and boost the East African nation’s economy.

Source: Bloomberg Business News