MacDonald George Obudho has succeeded Zachary Mwangi as director general at the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Mr mwangi’s tenure came to an end in October 2020, ending an eight-year stint at the helm.
Mr Obudho who has worked for the same agency since 1995 climbed up the ladder from a statistician to his current position. He is experienced in conducting population and housing censuses, designing and carrying out statistical sample surveys as well as compiling official statistics. He is also a refined manager with over 13 years mostly managing administrative and technical roles.
The man is so resourceful that he serves in a number of boards, includibng Hazina SACCO Ltd, and has served as director for population and social statistics at KNBS. It is also interesting to note that he played a major role in the first ever Kenyan digital census that was conducted in 2019, a job that earned him a state award – The Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) for his exemplary work in the design and execution of the 2019 Kenya population and housing census.
His new role will require focus on ensuring quality data standards, timeliness in reporting and embracing new data sources. In fact, according to him, there is enough room for improvement to the international levels of statistical management as well as the need to embrace data sources so as to avoid disruptions like those brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic that delayed the release of data on the country’s economic situation.
With a Master of Science degree in statistics from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and computer science from the same university, he is expected to steer the agency to higher heights.
