The Kenya Revenue Authority has decided not to renew the contract of its outgoing Commissioner General, Humphrey Wattanga. The tax agency says the reason is simple: he did not perform well enough.
During his time as head of KRA, the authority repeatedly missed its revenue collection targets. That did not sit well with the board, which has now chosen to start looking for a new leader immediately. Wattanga will not even serve out the rest of his term. He has been told to proceed on terminal leave as part of a smooth transition.
KRA Board Chairperson Nderitu Muriithi was straightforward about why the contract was not extended. He said the board was unhappy with ongoing criticism about missed revenue goals, and that criticism raised serious questions about who was leading the tax body.
When asked directly if the decision was linked to poor revenue performance, Muriithi did not hide anything. He said, “You can take that, yes, of course.”
He also made it clear that the board expects better results. “Overall KRA performance needs to improve. The buck stops with the CEO, and the board is responsible for the performance of the CEO,” he said.
The search for a new Commissioner General is already underway.
While all this is happening, KRA has also opened up about a bigger problem. The tax burden in Kenya is being carried by a very small group of people. Large and medium-sized companies, together with salaried workers in formal jobs, contribute most of the revenue. Meanwhile, more than 19 million Kenyans working in the informal sector remain largely outside the tax net.
George Obell, the KRA Commissioner for Small and Medium Enterprises, explained that most informal businesses are not paying any tax at all. He said many Kenyans open and run their own businesses, but the majority of them do not contribute to the tax base.
He pointed out that Kenya’s tax-to-GDP ratio is currently at 14 percent. In his view, the country should be at around 16 or 17 percent right now.
Despite these challenges, KRA says it will keep working to bring more people into the tax net. The authority plans to use digitisation and better tax administration to strengthen revenue collection, even in a tough economic environment.
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