No banks collapsed on my watch, says Prof Ndung'u as MPs revive CBK ghosts
Former Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Governor Njuguna Ndung’u, who is the Cabinet Secretary nominee for Treasury, has defended his record during his term at the helm of the regulator, even as MPs put him on the spot over past graft allegations.
During his vetting session with parliamentarians on Tuesday morning, MP Kimani Ichung'wa asked Pof Ndung'u how many banks collapsed under his watch as Governor.
“During my time, there's no bank that collapsed. I was governor from March 2007 to March 2015. There were several mergers geared towards addressing challenges in banks. A regulator is not someone who is waving an axe in the market, they protect the market,” he said.
He also defended himself against past corruption allegations.
"I fought the procurement case (Sh1.2 billion security tender case) up to the Court of Appeal," he said of the matter that was thrown out by the top court in 2018.
"The Grand Regency sale...I was an agent of government and this was a government-to-government sale. I was the one to negotiate and to receive the payment which was received by government."
if approved, Prof Ndung’u will replace CS Ukur Yatani who was appointed in January 2020 after serving from July 2019 in an acting capacity.
The experienced economist exited the CBK in March 2015 after serving the maximum eight years at the helm, having been appointed for his first term in March 2007 by former President Mwai Kibaki.
He was appointed as executive director of pan-African economic research think-tank African Economic Research Consortium in September 2018.
See our our other coverage from today's vetting:
See our coverage from yesterday's vetting:
