(Bloomberg) -- Kenyan President William Ruto named John Mbadi as finance minister, as he extends an overhaul of his administration in an effort to end anti-government protests in which at least 54 people have died.
Mbadi, an accountant by profession, is chairman of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement and allied to leader Raila Odinga. His appointment fulfills another pledge by Ruto to form a so-called government of national unity to garner wider public support.
The new finance minister will have to come up with a plan to boost government revenue after the deadly protests forced Ruto to abandon a plan to raise about $2 billion in new taxes. Mbadi, who has been the finance chief at a nonprofit and became a lawmaker in 2008, replaces Njuguna Ndung’u, a former central bank governor who held the post for less than two years.
Ruto appointed three other opposition members to head key ministries including the National Assembly’s minority leader James Wandayi as energy secretary and Ali Hassan Joho at mining. He also reappointed 10 ministers from his old cabinet.
“Their willingness to set aside partisan positions and interests in order to join a visionary partnership for the radical transformation of Kenya is a historic gesture of their patriotism,” Ruto said in a televised speech. “I know and I understand acutely the huge expectations of the people of Kenya on me and this administration.”
Sign up here for the twice-weekly Next Africa newsletter
Mbadi has been chairman of ODM party and member of parliament for two terms. The appointments will need lawmakers’ approvals.
The shilling fell 0.7% against the dollar at 3:22 p.m. local time. Yields on Kenyan eurobonds maturing 2031 and 2048 were down about 5 basis points.
Coalition Government
The last time Kenya had a cabinet comprising members from both the ruling party and the opposition was in 2007, after a disputed election sparked two months of violence in which more than 1,100 people died and 350,000 others were forced to flee their homes.
Ruto began naming a new cabinet on July 19, a week after dismissing almost all of his ministers in response to protests against higher taxes, state corruption and wastage of public funds. At the peak of the demonstrations, hundreds of people stormed parliament, forcing Ruto to abandon revenue-raising measures needed to plug a budget shortfall.
Power sharing has worked to resolve past political conflict in Kenya. But roping in the opposition is unlikely to quell the unrest this time around, according to Nic Cheeseman, professor of democracy at the University of Birmingham.
“The problem for Ruto is that it is not the opposition that needs to be placated this time, but the people - and the protesters on the streets have already made it clear that they do not want to see another elite reshuffle,” Cheeseman said. “He will need to go much much further than that.”
Ruto’s administration has been under pressure to shore up tax collection and slash borrowing under a $3.6 billion funding program agreed with the International Monetary Fund to address Kenya’s debt vulnerabilities. At about 70% of gross domestic product, its debt is considered at high risk of distress.
Despite Ruto’s concession on taxes and firing his cabinet, the protesters — led mainly by a young, educated and tech-savvy generation — have been unrelenting. Their demands now include a call for Ruto to step down. The cabinet nominees include a 32-year-old engineer as water secretary — an apparent bid to assuage the anti-government demonstrations dubbed Gen-Z protests.
You can follow Bloomberg’s reporting on Africa on WhatsApp. Sign up here.
--With assistance from Eric Ombok.
(Updates with analyst comment from 10th paragraph.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
