Two nominated for budget, auditor jobs

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have nominated Agnes Odhiambo and Edward Ouko as Controller of Budget and Auditor General respectively.

The nominees names are before Parliament for vetting by the Budget and Finance Committees before formal appointment.

Ms Odhiambo was the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) Board chief executive while Mr Ouko was the African Development Bank auditor general.

According to the law, the interview panel was supposed to forward names of three nominees for each position to the President and Prime Minister who, after consultation, will choose one person for each position.

Those who appeared before the panel seeking the post of auditor-general were: Ms Sessi Mary Salome Nthenya, Mr Ouko, Mr Humphrey Ogola Wanyama, Ms Muthoni Wangai and Mr Evans Inyangala Kaiga.

Front-runners for the post of controller of budget were: Kenya Revenue Authority commissioner for domestic tax John Njiraini and Ms Odhiambo.

As Kenya's first ever Controller of Budget, Ms Odhiambo is credited with formulating a five year strategy plan to turn around the fortunes of the Constituency Development Fund whose board she chaired prior to her new appointment.

Mrs Odhambo’s credentials as an accomplished professional with over 25 years experience at senior financial management positions in both the private and public sectors appear to have influenced her appointment besides regional and gender considerations which also worked in her favour.

A holder of a Masters of Business Administration degree and before that a Bachelor of Commerce First Class honours degree from the University of Nairobi, Mrs Odhiambo has previously held senior management positions at Unga Feeds, Metro Cash & Carry Ltd and lately, at the CDF board.

The new Auditor General last posting was in a similar capacity at the AfDB.

Mr Ouko is also a Fellow and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (FCA) and of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (CPA) (K).

Like Mrs Odhiambo, the new Auditor General holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Nairobi.

At the AfDB, Mr Ouko was responsible for directing and supervising Internal Audit and Integrity and anti-corruption functions.

Before joining the AfDB, he spent more than 25 years in the auditing and accounting fields in both the public and private sectors, having gained international experience working for a prominent accounting firm in London and Nairobi and he has been networking closely with the other Heads of Audits and Integrity of the multilateral development banks and United Nations agencies for over 10 years.