Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani carries the demeanour of a man who has more bad news than he is willing to deliver. But he remains calm even under pressure. The economist prefers to ask and answer his own questions in interviews.
His one year as Treasury boss has coincided with the government’s realisation that the country was living way beyond its means. He hit the ground running, implementing a raft of austerity measures to stop massive wastage.
Several local and international institutions have raised alarm over growing debt distress, even as Treasury puts on a brave face.
As he walks into Parliament this afternoon to read his Sh2.7 trillion budget, Mr Yatani will be carrying on his shoulders the weight of a Sh904 billion debt bill, the Jubilee government’s Big Four agenda, and the hopes of millions of Kenyans who are hurting from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The soft-spoken 53-year-old CS will read his first budget against the backdrop of an economy battered by the novel coronavirus and floods, and a food-security threat from unrelenting locusts.
He will also be reading one of the most unrealistic budgets, described by Parliament and other experts as too far from the realities on the ground.
For the first time in many years, the government has admitted in its budget numbers that it will have to borrow to pay salaries. After paying its debt obligations, it will be a miracle if what is left from the Sh1.6 trillion tax collection is enough to pay civil servants and take care of the operations of the Judiciary, Legislature and counties.
Mr Yatani, the only child in a family of seven siblings to go through school, will have the unenviable task of presenting a budget that will return to work more than one million Kenyans who have lost their jobs.
In the country’s political landscape, where larger tribes hold more currency, Mr Yatani was an unlikely pick for the country’s chief finance officer job. He was named acting Treasury CS in July last year after his predecessor Henry Rotich was hounded out on graft allegations. He was confirmed to the position in January.
In spite of his relative success at the Treasury dealing with the debt nightmare, the father of two has faced criticism for hiring people from his clan. In just one year, he has already had to deal with controversy after his wife was awarded two State jobs as thousands of youth remain jobless.
He is also preparing to face off with activist Okiya Omtatah in court over accusations that he influenced the allocation of Sh4.2 billion worth of projects in his North Horr constituency.
Mr Yatani denies the allegations, saying that some of those he is alleged to have employed are not known to him.
Now, about a year into office, the CS is at the centre of a budget that will determine how Kenya recovers from the pandemic, or suffer more.
He remembers his childhood struggles in Maikona, an oasis on the northern edge of the Chalbi desert, walking for about 45 kilometres to join primary school.
“It was a boarding school run by Catholic missionaries. They took you to school, educated you, fed you and clothed you. You could stay at the school for one to three years without seeing your parents,” he recalls. He joined North Horr Primary School in 1978, where he sat for his Certificate of Primary Education exam in 1981.
He got a scholarship to join Garbatulla High School and proceeded to Kabarnet High School for his A-levels. He then studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology at Egerton University, graduating in 1991. He was then appointed district officer and rose through the ranks to become a district commissioner in 2002, serving in Baringo, Eldoret, Trans Nzoia and Laikipia, among others.
In 2005, he earned a Master of Arts degre in public administration and public policy from the University of York in the UK.
The death of North Horr MP Bonaya Godana thrust him into political life. He served as an MP and governor before losing in the last elections. He was then plucked from the cold by President Uhuru Kenyatta and brought into the Cabinet, starting with the Labour ministry.