House team approves Margaret Nyakang’o as Controller of Budget

Ms Margaret Nyang’ate Nyakang’o could by Thursday be approved for appointment as the second Controller of Budget (CoB) under the current Constitution after a parliamentary committee approved her nomination.

The Finance and National Planning Committee in its report tabled in the National Assembly Tuesday established that Ms Nyakang'o is suitable for the job after a vetting last week.

The committee chaired by Kipkelion East MP Joseph Limo has also recommended the appointment of former nominated MP Amina Abdallah as a member of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to represent the interests of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC).

Ms Abdallah served as a nominated MP for three consecutive terms until 2013 and was vetted by the committee after approval from PSC.

Last year, MPs rejected the nomination of former nominated Senator Halima Abdille for the position on account that she was not qualified to sit in the SRC. 

If the National Assembly approves Ms Nyakang'o’s nomination and the President formally appoints her, she will replace Agnes Odhiambo, whose eight-year term ended on August 27, 2019.

Ms Nyakang'o’s immediate task will be among others, to investigate why 15 county governments have defaulted paying suppliers, a move that has prompted the National Treasury to request Parliament to stop fund transfers to them.

The selection panel chaired by former Brand Kenya chief executive Mary Kimonye transmitted to the president three top nominees from which he nominated her in line with the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act before sending it to the National Assembly for vetting.

Other than Ms Nyakang'o, others who were interviewed by the selection panel include Mr Justus Nyamunga, who sits in the budget unit at State House, Ms Judith Akuma, Mr Duncan Otieno, Ms Edith King’ori, Mr Leonard Lari, Mr James Akeyo, Ms Celestine Munda, Ms Muinde Patrick, Ms Karen Njeri, Mr Macklin Ogolla, Ms Elizabeth Mwathi and Mr Abubakar Abdirahman.

Ms Nyakang'o will be in charge of withdrawals from the public kitty as well as manage the growing appetite by the devolved units that have perennially overshot set limits on monthly spending for ward reps sitting allowances and foreign and domestic travels.

Among the key proposals Ms Odhiambo made during her tenure was to have Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) consider collecting levies on behalf of the 47 counties with the pending bills remaining an issue.

The 47 county governments have consistently missed their revenue targets since the advent of devolution of resources and services under the new constitution in 2013.

Ms Odhiambo also raised the red flag over the ballooning public expenditures driven largely by salaries of workers of bloated national and county governments.

Under CoB Act, any Kenyan citizen can serve as the Controller of Budget as long as they hold a degree in finance, accounting or economics and meet the constitutional threshold for integrity.