Ukur Yatani- Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury at Parliament Buildings, Nairobi. June 10, 2021. [Jonah Onyango, Standard] This year will be all about the economy. None other than politicians gunning for the highest seat in the land have signalled that the narrative this year will be on how to transform the economic fortunes of ordinary wananchi.
Politicians and their promises aside. There are individuals whose roles in 2022 are expected to profoundly shape the business landscape in the next 12 months.
This list includes a Cabinet Secretary, technocrats, regulators and CEOs of some of the country’s blue-chip companies.
Ukur Yatani- Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury
Ukur Yatani is the man in the eye of a storm. He is expected to guide the economy from the turbulence of Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, the economy contracted after the government put in place containment measures aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus. A lot of businesses were shut down, rendering a lot of workers jobless.
The economy has since started to recover, but there are still some risks ahead. Yatani is still expected to shield the economy from the uncertainty associated with the elections.
There will also be pressure for the National Treasury to allocate more funds for this year’s elections and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s flagship projects ahead of his exit.
Kenyans will also be watching Yatani as the government continues to restructure some of the fledgling state corporations including Kenya Airways, Kenya Power and the four largest universities.
Patrick Njoroge- Governor of Central Bank of Kenya
In the financial sector, all eyes will be on the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) as he starts to regulate digital lenders. There is a consensus that digital credit providers have treated consumers badly. Besides charging crazy interest rates, they have also breached the privacy of consumers by calling their relatives and friends in their recovery efforts. Already, CBK has crafted the necessary regulations which are currently been subjected to public participation.
Additionally, CBK boss will be expected to stabilise the country’s exchange rate. Since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in March last year, the Kenyan Shilling has weakened trading at 113. 14 against the US Dollar. Monica Juma, Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Energy Kenyans are pegging a lot of hopes on the low cost of electricity on Ms Juma, who was recently appointed Cabinet Secretary Energy. On her appointment, she was tasked with the implementation of recommendations […]