Mary Wanyonyi, on Thursday, June 22, argued that she was nominated as chairperson of the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) by President William Ruto owing to her qualifications and competence.
While appearing before the National Assembly Finance Committee, she maintained that the appointment was based on merit and not on being the wife of former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson, Wafula Chebukati.
She cited spearheading the implementation of Ardhisasa at the Ministry of Lands as one of the major achievements to convince MPs to approve her nomination.
"At the State Department of Lands, we have managed to generate revenue beyond our targets multiple folds since we decided to automate revenue collection.
"I would not apply for such a position if I knew I was not prepared for it," she stated.
If approved, the nominee expressed that she would advocate for the automation of revenue collection in her role as CRA chair.
She also opined that state departments and county governments needed to maximise efficient budgeting to deal with pending bills running into billions of shillings.
"We need to develop a legal framework for revenue collection and develop capacity among officers to collect optimal revenue.
"If I am offered a chance to serve in this position, I will focus on developing the capacity for County Governments to accelerate their own revenue generation," she added.
While speaking at a church service in Kakamega on Sunday, June 18, President William Ruto spoke against being pressured to borrow loans to fund county governments.
He urged governors to increase revenue collection to cover the gaps as the national government continues to implement its austerity measures.
"I have said that I will not borrow money to pay counties. Let us live within our means.''
''We had paid previously Ksh28 billion, last week we paid Ksh33 billion, and in this coming week, God willing, we shall pay another Ksh31 billion so that by the end of June we should be done with counties,'' the President assured.
The Finance Committee led by Molo MP Kuria Kimani is expected to deliberate on the suitability of Mary Wanyonyi over the weekend before tabling a comprehensive report.
Ruto nominated Chebukati's wife to serve as CRA chairperson on May 23, after she missed out on a Principal Secretary role.
