Former CBK Governor Ndung’u says he’s worth Sh950 million
National Treasury and Planning Cabinet Secretary nominee Prof Njuguna Ndung’u who is also a former Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) governor has placed his net worth at Sh950 million.
Prof Ndung’u made the revelation before the National Assembly Appointment committee on Tuesday.
He is facing tough questions about his past and his plans for the economy. The country’s public debt was Sh8.6 trillion by July. Kenya is already feeling the heat as it implements tough conditions set by the IMF.
He is currently working with Africa Economic Research Consortium and told the committee that he accumulated a majority of his wealth through financial investment.
“I think my anticipated earnings will be gratuity coming once my contract comes to an end unfortunately even if I am approved I would have to leave this job,” he said.
He previously served as CBK governor for a two-four-year term between 2007 and 2015 before being succeeded by Dr Patrick Njoroge.
He was part of President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza strategy team assisting in crafting his bottom-up economic model strategy ahead of the August 9 general election.
He took part in developing the economic model which is expected to ensure more resources are invested in the grassroots, greater economic participation, and an expansion of the tax base.
If approved, he will take over an economy that has been battered by the economic effects of Covid-19 albeit slowly recovering amidst accumulating debt and soaring global inflation.
According to Treasury, as of June 2022, Kenya’s debt stood at Sh8.6 trillion.
He studied Bachelor of Economics at the University of Nairobi and did his Master’s in the same institution.
The professor of economics is credited for presiding over growth and stability in the banking sector.
He had just taken over at CBK when Safaricom launched MPesa, a mobile money transfer service that has put Kenya on the global technology map.
It is also during his tenure that CBK allowed more technological experiments within the banking sector leading to the nurturing of other mobile money platforms, agency banking, and the deepening of banking services in the country.
He listed the introduction of mobile phone financial services, the agency banking model, and currency centres to lower the cost of doing business for banks as part of his initiatives to increase financial inclusion.