Treasury PS Kamau Thugge prefers to work behind scenes
Treasury PS Kamau Thugge. He is perhaps one of the most soft-spoken principal secretaries in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- When the dam scandal broke, no one guessed he would be on the list of suspects.
- Before joining the Treasury, he worked with the International Monetary Fund as an economist.
- He now faces prosecution on the same dams that promise to go down with the highest-ranking public officials.
Dr Kamau Thugge is perhaps one of the most soft-spoken principal secretaries in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.
Every time the Treasury has been caught up in a scandal, he will always be found far away.
When the dam scandal broke, no one guessed he would be on the list of suspects when investigations were complete.
He now faces, alongside his boss Henry Rotich, prosecution on the same dams that promise to go down with the highest-ranking public officials yet in the ongoing corruption purge.
ACCOUNTING OFFICER
Dr Thugge became the accounting officer in 2013, when his boss at the time, Joseph Kinyua, was elevated to State House to be President Kenyatta’s chief of staff.
Before his current job, he worked in the ministry of Finance in various capacities, among them the head of the Fiscal and Monetary Affairs Department, economic secretary and as a senior economic adviser.
Before joining the Treasury, he worked with the International Monetary Fund as an economist.
HIGH MOMENTS
Some of the high moments in his career include his role in influencing the design of Kenya’s current fiscal decentralisation system.
He also coordinated the formulation of legislation for implementing devolution, The Commission on Revenue Allocation Act 2011, Independent Officers (Appointment) Act, 2012, County Government PFM Transition Act 2013, County Allocation of Revenue Bill 2013 and Division of Revenue Bill 2013/2014.
He holds a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Colorado College in the United States.
He also holds a master’s degree in economics from Johns Hopkins University, US, and a PhD in economics.
