Uhuru picks Muthaura as chairman of KRA board
Kenya’s former Head of Civil Service Francis Muthaura. He has been appointed as the chairman of Kenya Revenue Authority by President Uhuru Kenyatta. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
President revoked the appointment of former Planning Permanent Secretary Edward Sambili, who has been serving in the position since 2016.
Prior to the appointment, Muthaura, 71, has been serving as the Lapsset Development Authority chairman.
The Head of State also appointed Mukesh Shah, Leornard Ithau and Susan Mudhune to the KRA board until October 20, 2018.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed former Head of Civil Service Mr Francis Muthaura as the chairman of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), revoking the appointment of former Planning Permanent Secretary Edward Sambili, who has been serving in the position since 2016.
The President, in a special May 23 gazette notice, said Mr Muthaura would serve in that position until October 20, 2019.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 7 (3) of the State Corporation Act and section 6(2) (a) of the Kenya Revenue Authority Act, I, Uhuru Kenyatta, President and Commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, appoint Francis K. Muthaura to be the chairperson of the Kenya Revenue Authority,” said the President in the gazette notice.
THREE YEARS
Prior to the appointment, Muthaura, 71, has been serving as the Lapsset Development Authority chairman.
The Head of State also appointed Mukesh Shah, Leornard Ithau and Susan Mudhune to the KRA board until October 20, 2018.
He revoked Mr Abdi Bare Duale’s appointment to that board of directors and replaced him with Mr Charles Makori Omanga, who will serve until June 2020.
Mr Duale has been appointed as the new Kenya Leather Development Council chairman for a three-year period effective from next Wednesday.
Commercial Bank of Africa chief executive officer Isaac Awuondo is the new Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) board of directors chairman for a three year period effective Wednesday.
KWS
Mr Awuondo replaces former Chief of Defence Forces Julius Karangi at the helm of the aviation body.
Meanwhile, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia has renewed KAA board member Joseph Mutiso’s term for a three year period.
President Kenyatta further appointed Mr John Waithaka to be the Kenya Wildlife Service board chairman.
He revoked former Nairobi Deputy Governor Polycarp Igathe’s appointment as Special Economic Zones Authority chairman and replaced him with Ms Caroline Kariuki, who will serve for a three-year period.
PAYE
On KRA, where Mr Muthaura and the new board are expected to make a turnaround, a research by Genghis noted that capital tax collection in the first half of this financial year rose by a modest 6.63 per cent compared to a similar period last year, lagging behind the Treasury targets.
KRA collected about Sh630.37 billion in the July-December period compared to Sh591.17 billion in a similar period in 2016.
The taxman will now have to collect nearly 134.94 billion monthly between January and June to hit the Sh1.44 trillion full-year target.
“The first quarter period ending September 2017 saw revenues in import duty, PAYE segment and excise duty fall off target,” said Genghis in a micro-economic and fixed income report released in February.
