Economic Planning Principal Secretary James Muhati holds consultative talks with a team from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) at his office in the National Treasury Building

Economic Planning Principal Secretary James Muhati today held consultative talks with a team from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) at his office in the National Treasury Building. The KNBS team was led by its Director General Dr. Macdonald Obudho who was accompanied by the Founding Director of the African Centre for Statistics at the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Prof. Ben Kiregyera.

The talks centred on positioning the Semi-Autonomous Government Agency to better deliver on its mandate as the producer and custodian of official statistics.

The visiting team cited the need to address certain administrative challenges at the bureau at a time economies are moving from National Statistical Systems to all-inclusive Data eco-systems. While acknowledging the strides Kenya has made in statistics, Prof. Kiregyera also sought the help of the PS in the process of drawing a regional Strategic Plan for the East African Community.

The Principal Secretary emphasized the crucial role statistics play in national development which has informed the support the State Department has accorded the Bureau in the past few years. On the Strategic Plan, the Principal Secretary asked KNBS Director General to issue an official communication detailing the roles to be played by the State Department as well as the timelines.

“Data is a gold mine which needs to be harnessed to promote evidence-based decision making,” The PS said.

The meeting was also attended by Economic Planning Secretary Timothy Gakuu and Directors from various Directorates.