Rotich wanted to become a geologist unfortunately, his love for maths could not allow it
By Bonface Otieno Kanyamwaya
His childhood dream was to study archaeography in a bid to work in the mining industry as a geologist but as fate would have it, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich ended up falling in love with maths which saw him join the University of Nairobi to study economics.
He is the man who was at the centre of attention yesterday as he presented a Ksh. 2.6 trillion budget.
The 48-year-old soft spoken technocrat who is among the first batch of Cabinet Secretaries hired outside parliament as stipulated by the law, is also the longest lasting in the docket since it was left by National Super Alliance Co-Principal Musalia Mudavadi in 1997.
His journey to success started at Fluorspar Primary School in Keiyo South District where he was the top student.
He then joined St. Joseph’s High School for his Secondary School studies where he qualified to join the University of Nairobi for a Bachelors Degree in Economics and graduated with a First Class Honours.
President Uhuru Kenyatta with Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich and Deputy President William Ruto at a past function.
He would later attain a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Havard Kennedy School, Havard University, USA.
Prior to joining the Ministry of Finance, he had worked at the research arm of Central Bank of Kenya since 1994, later becoming the Head of Macroeconomics at the Treasury from March 2006. Rotich was instrumental in formulating macroeconomic policies that ensured an affordable and sustainable path in public spending.
The role made him a good candidate for his current posting as he was also involved in preparation of key budget documents, including Budget Policy Statement, and in providing strategic coordination of structural reforms in the financial sector.
