KRA Commissioner-General Githii Mburu lands new role

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General Githii Mburu. [Wilberforce Okwiri,Standard]

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General Githii Mburu has been appointed Vice Chairman of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax purposes.

Mburu assumed the role last week in Seville, Spain, where he also chaired the 12th Africa Initiative meeting.

In a press statement on Tuesday, November 15, KRA Deputy Commissioner, Marketing and Communications Grace Wandera said Mburu will serve in the new role for a period of three years, starting January 2023.

"In his new role, the Commissioner General will be part of the Global forum executive that will oversee the implementation of strategies to influence and promote cooperation among tax authorities on the Exchange of Information on Requests (EOIR), Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), building capacity and providing technical assistance to tax administration towards the fight against tax evasion," said Wandera.

He will serve with other members including the Global forum chair (France), two other Vice chairpersons (Italy, Japan) and sixteen other members drawn from different countries. His appointment elevates Kenya and Africa's profile in tax transparency and participation at the Global forum.

Mburu's appointment follows the end of his two-year term as the first Africa Initiative chairperson, a regional institute established to enhance the potential of tax transparency and exchange of information (EOI) in Africa.

The Africa Initiative is a partnership between the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, its African members and a number of regional and international organisations and development partners.

It is tasked to ensure African countries are equipped to explore improvements in global transparency and tackle tax evasion.

Wandera noted that during the period Mburu was at the helm of AI, the institution made great progress towards unpacking the benefits of tax transparency and Exchange of Information (EOI) to fight tax evasion and other Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) in Africa.

"Kenya hosted the 11th Africa Initiative meeting in June 2022, a high-level strategic engagement to advocate for tax transparency and EOI at the continental level, promotion of the Yaounde Declaration and demonstrating the impact of tax transparency and EOI in domestic resource mobilization," she added.