KENYA REVENUE AUTHORITY EXPERTS GRADUATES

KENYA REVENUE AUTHORITY EXPERTS GRADUATES

By Donald Kogai

More than 300 tax and customs professionals

have today been awarded certificates and

diplomas in Customs and tax administration.

The trained experts were awarded during the

Kenya School of Revenue Administration

(KESRA) 17th graduation ceremony held at

Times Tower, Nairobi.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Board

Chairman Ambassador Francis Muthaura

challenged the graduands to instigate new

ideas to support KRA and the country’s

economy. He said that time had come for the

graduands to participate in policy development

and the country’s economic decision making as

the country emerges from the effects of

Covid-19 pandemic.

“As the economy begins the restart and

recovery from the effects of Covid-19 pandemic,

Kenya needs you now more than ever. You are

not only the future but the current decision

makers of this country and your role will be

critical in revamping the economy,” said Amb.

Muthaura.

During the graduation ceremony themed

‘leveraging on technology to transform tax and

Customs training’ the school announced that it

had developed and rolled out two Higher

National Diploma programmes in tax and

Customs administration with a bachelor’s

degree as the entry-level.

Commissioner and Head of KESRA Dr. Fred

Mugambi said that the new programmes will go

along way in improving the technical expertise

of tax experts in the country as the country

embarks on implementation of newly proposed

taxes including Digital Service Tax (DST)

Minimum Tax as well as other tax base

expansion initiatives including the Voluntary

Tax Disclosure Programme.

Speaking on behalf of Kenya Revenue Authority

(KRA) Commissioner General, Mr Githii Mburu,

Commissioner Legal and Board Coordination

said that the institution had enabled KRA to

build staff capacity and equip Kenyans with

necessary skills in Tax, Customs and Fiscal

Policy.

He noted that during the 2019/2020 Financial

Year, through the online platform, the institution

managed to train over 2,500 KRA staff in

various programmes. He said that the Authority

envisions that KESRA will soon be able to train

all KRA staff every year.

“I would also like to laud the various

programmes that KESRA has put together to

train staff. For instance, KESRA has managed

to train over 80 KRA senior managers in

collaboration with the National Defence College

through the Ethics and Leadership programme,”

added the Commissioner.

The Commissioner said that KRA is in the

process of identifying a sizable facility to host

the surging number of students at the KESRA’s

main campus in Nairobi.

About190 Post Graduate and 24 Masters

graduands will soon be conferred with

respective degrees at the Jomo Kenyatta

University of Agriculture and Technology

(JKUAT) and Moi Universities, courtesy of the

partnerships that the school has with the two

higher institutions.