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From the AERC Programme Committee

On behalf of the African Economic Research Consortium’s Programme Committee (AERC PC), I extend my warmest congratulations to you on your appointment as the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Economic Planning, Kenya. It has been a pleasure for us, members of the PC, to watch your professional growth and your many contributions to capacity building in Africa. The AERC PC members wish you the best on this important next step in your stellar and exemplary career and pray that you continue to positively impact economic growth and human development, not just in Kenya, but also throughout the continent. 

We, of the AERC PC, are confident that your leadership of Kenya’s National Treasury and Economic Planning will help the ministry play a constructive and transformative role in economic growth, wealth creation, poverty alleviation, and human development in Kenya. We know that Africa is facing a number of critical challenges, among which are the need to mobilize enough resources to significantly improve healthcare access to all citizens and confront other critical problems, which include access to education, especially for vulnerable groups (e.g., those living on the economic margins), access to clean water, inflation, food insecurity, burgeoning external debt, rising inequality, and climate change. I am confident that I am expressing the wishes of my colleagues on the AERC Programme Committee when I wish you the very best in leading Kenya to financial stability and economic prosperity. I pray that your tenure as Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Economic Planning, is marked by significant improvements in living standards, especially for those living in extreme poverty. I pray further that you use the expertise and wealth of knowledge that you have acquired through prior service as an economics professor, Principal Researcher at the Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), AERC Director of Training, and Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, to help Kenya build a better and prosperous future for all its citizens. 

At KIPPRA, AERC and the Central Bank of Kenya, your leadership was characterized by empathy, particularly for fellow citizens living on the economic margins—those in the rural areas and urban periphery, who struggle on a daily basis to meet their basic needs. Throughout your career, you have worked hard, not just to promote economic growth and development in Kenya, but most importantly, to make sure that that growth is inclusive and provides opportunities for all citizens to benefit and improve their quality of life. My prayer for you is that you use your new position to help humanize your fellow “public servants” and significantly enhance their ability to work for the improvement of the living standards of all Kenyans. 

AERC is an institution that builds capacity to inform economic policies in Africa. Since its establishment in 1988, AERC has worked hard to support “sound economic research on themes of importance to the management of economies in Africa.” I hope that we can continue the cooperation that AERC has had with the Government of Kenya in strengthening the AERC’s longstanding research work and capacity building mandate, and providing Kenya with the expertise that it needs to promote sustainable economic growth and development. 

It is undeniable that you have a well-established record of exemplary leadership in both public and private sectors. I first met you when you were a Principal Researcher at KIPPRA. Then, I worked with you as a Resource Person during your long tenure at AERC. I am confident that you are fully qualified to lead Kenya’s National Treasury and Economic Planning and help transform Kenya into one of the most developed and progressive economies in Africa. We, at the AERC hope that the mutually beneficial relationship that the Government of Kenya and the AERC have developed over the years will continue. Such a working partnership should significantly enhance Kenya’s ability to develop its human resources, especially in economic policy making, and provide the AERC with opportunities to continue its capacity building. 

We, at the AERC, appreciate the extraordinary service that you have given to the AERC, first as Director of Training and then as AERC Executive Director. We look forward to working with you as you serve the people of Kenya and help them build a more peaceful and prosperous nation. 

While looking forward to our continued collaboration with the Government of Kenya, accept the assurances of my highest consideration.

Professor John Mukum Mbaku 
AERC Programme Committee