Deputy Commissioner, Public Sector, Moses Nyangiye with colleagues from Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) paid a courtesy call to the Controller of Budget (COB), Dr. Margaret Nyakang’o, to acknowledge her contribution in ensuring tax compliance by the office, MDAs, and the devolved units.
The Deputy Commissioner was accompanied by Michael Murambi (Chief Manager, Public Sector Division), Eve Nzembi (Customer Experience Officer), and Ann Mong’are (Public Sector Division Officer).
During the meeting, the Controller of Budget explained the mandate of the Office and its establishment. She said that initially some of the functions of OCOB were performed by the Controller and Auditor General and the Treasury while others did not exist. This therefore led to the formation of two new independent constitutional offices which were created by splitting the control function of the Controller and Auditor General into the Office of the Controller of Budget and the Auditor General under Articles 228 and 229 respectively. The COB mandate was later expanded in the Controller of Budget Act, 2016.

Dr. Nyakang’o emphasized that one of the key mandates of the OCOB as captured in Article 228(5) was that she had to be satisfied that all withdrawal requests for funds, including but not limited to income tax were within the law.
The OCOB team present at the meeting got a chance to introduce their roles and responsibilities on matters of taxation and tax compliance in the office. Those present included Thomas Cheboi (Accountant), Kenneth Kibet (Principal Fiscal Analyst), Harith Sheikh (Senior Internal Auditor), and Stephen Otieno (Principal Fiscal Analyst).
Mr. Nyangiye applauded the Office of the Controller of Budget for being tax compliant and expressed his appreciation for the support of the Office particularly in assisting the devolved units and MDAs in tax compliance.
He further emphasized that both KRA and OCOB played a key role in financial management in the public sector hence the need to foster a strong relationship.
Moving forward, both organizations agreed that requisitions touching on tax arrears should be fast-tracked to ensure the timely realization of revenue for the government.
Dr. Nyakang’o promised her full support to KRA in this respect and added that this was owing to the fact that taxes played a key role in the country’s sustainable and equitable growth.