Uhuru's Legacy Concerns Forces KRA to Fire Six Top Executives

Pressure piled upon the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) by President Uhuru Kenyatta's directives on tax collection has forced the KRA to go hard after its nonperforming senior managers.

Reports from the Daily Nation on Monday, January 6, indicate that six managers, whose contracts were set for renewal at the end of December have been sent home instead.

This was as a result of an intense vetting on the performance of all the managers in the tax body with a view to weeding out those who have consistently failed to meet their revenue targets.

KRA Commissioner General James Githii Mburu

Six other employees are also reported to have been sent home after failing a lifestyle audit, while 80 others are under the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission's (EACC) microscope after discrepancies were found between their wealth and declared income.

Some other 42 managers are set to have their terms end in June 2020, and are expected to be subjected to the system launched by KRA Commissioner General James Mburu, which makes it impossible for managers to have their contracts automatically renewed.

"Contracts have terms, and if one is coming to an end, then the employees are supposed to apply for a renewal, but you cannot force your employer to renew your contract. The employer looks at the value you are bringing and decides whether to renew it or not," Mburu was quoted.

"There will no longer be a thing like permanent and pensionable terms at KRA for all managers on contract so everybody should pull their own weight. When we do not hit targets, it means that someone is not working," he added.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on November 5, 2019, during the Annual Taxpayers Luncheon organized by KRA, urged the tax body to start a review of tax laws for efficient collection and administration of revenue.

His concerns were informed by the frequency at which the tax body was failing to meet revenue targets, in effect impeding his big 4 agenda at a time when his term is slowly drawing towards the end.

 "KRA must be empowered to impose greater accountability in terms of fines and liability, for taxes with respect to professional advisers and agents, who provide assistance for or enable the deliberate non-payment of taxes,” he had stated on the date.

President Uhuru Kenyatta speaks at the Annual Taxpayers Luncheon in Nairobi on November 5, 2019.