Chris Kiptoo

Dr. Chris Kiptoo attending 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference with Keriako Tobiko and Uhuru Kenyatta

Dr. Chris Kiptoo joined the Ministry of Environment and Forestry as Permanent Secretary in Jan 2020. Dr. Kiptoo has championed measures to mitigate and adapt to climate change, management of waste, pollution control, and renewable energy. These include his commitment to the forest and land use, for example, the target of 10% forest cover by 2030 & land restoration, scaling finance and investment, sustainable economic development, and biodiversity.

As principal secretary, Dr. kiptoo was instrumental in

1)Signing and ratification of Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)- Preparation of Cabinet Memo on EPA which was approved for signing and ratification. He worked very hard to ensure that Kenya beat the 1st of October 2016 deadline to sign and ratify the EAC-EU EPA, otherwise Kenya's private sector would by now have lost a lot through payment of duty to access the EU market. This is notwithstanding the fact that Burundi and Tanzania are yet to sign and ratify the EPA.

2)Development of National Trade Policy (NTP) and Submission to Cabinet. Kenya has taken too long to prepare a national trade policy owing to tuff wars. Dr. Kiptoo however managed to bring together all the key stakeholders including the county governments to develop a comprehensive national trade policy that focuses on domestic and international trade. A cabinet memo of national trade policy is now before the cabinet;

3)National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) - Ratification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement was completed and Instruments of Ratification were deposited with the WTO Secretariat on 10th December 2015. Subsequently, Dr. Kiptoo has fast-tracked the establishment of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) of Kenya. The Committee has a Membership of 59 from the Public, Private Sector, and Trade-related Civil Society with a clear organizational structure. NTFC received a legal mandate on 16th September 2016 when the Cabinet Secretary For Industry, Trade And Cooperatives Gazetted.

4)National Export Strategy - Dr. Kiptoo was the chair of a national task force on National Export Strategy and implementation which he established following the completion of the national trade policy. The Strategy sought to spur the country's export development with a view to translating the outcome to the growth targets that Vision 2030 has assigned the trade sector. The strategy was specifically to address the following challenges that have remained elusive: -Kenya's Balance of Trade deficit which has been on the increase standing at KES940 billion in 2015. This is attributed to imports being more than three times the value of exports, a scenario that demonstrates a lack of conscious efforts to close the gap through sustained export growth and domestic market solution to the country's import demand. The challenge on exports is further manifested in the country's export destination market, which remains quite narrow, with over 70% of Kenya's total exports being destined to only 12 countries globally. Further, the country's export products export base is also narrow, as evidenced by about 5 products/subsectors accounting for 56% of total exports in 2015. This explains the dismal share of the country's total export in the total global merchandise trade, which is estimated at 0.03%. The strategy will be targeting the following sectors, which have been identified as having trade potential in markets that Kenya has preferential market access arrangement: -

a)Livestock (Meat, Dairy, Poultry meat, and eggs, leather, ornamental birds)

b)Agriculture (Horticulture, fruits, vegetables, nuts, floriculture, tea, coffee, pulses, honey,pyrethrum)

c)Fisheries (Inland, marine, aquaculture, aquarium fisheries)

d)Manufactured products (textiles & apparel, agro-processed products, plastics, commercial products, footwear)

e)Handicrafts

f)Services sector (Health, cultural recreational & sporting, construction, education)

g)Emerging sectors (Mining, Minerals, Energy)

5)Establishment of National Commodities Exchange (COMEX)- good progress has been made to establish a national commodity exchange. The warehouse receipts bill is on the third reading in parliament, the Capital markets Authority (CMA) act is being amended to facilitate for regulation of commodity exchange, standards have been developed for 18 commodities and a consultant is being brought on board to establish the COMEX.[12]

6)Resolving Unfair trade practices in the domestic economy - Dr. Kiptoo successfully brought together the Association of Kenya suppliers (ASK), the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (ASK), and the Retail Association of Kenya (RETRAK) to reach an understanding of how to resolve unpaid payments problem that has become rampant in Kenya. He has formed a task force to address a number of other unfair trade practices with a view of coming up with a regulatory framework as envisaged in the National Trade Policy.

7) Trade Portal- Dr. Kiptoo rolled out the development of a trade portal that contains domestic and international trade statistics/information. The portal is important for the storage of information and data to facilitate sharing, analysis, and use by interested parties. The portal will also have Market Access Regulatory Requirements.

8)Kenya's participation in World in World Expositions - Dr. Kiptoo was in charge of planning and execution of Kenya's participation in Expo 2017 Astana and the upcoming Expo 2020 in Dubai. This involves supporting the prevailing theme statements for each Expo while at the same time trade, investments, and tourism benefits to Kenya from these important events.

9)Review of Bilateral Agreements - in 2015, 70% of Kenya's exports went to only 12 markets. Dr. Kiptoo lead the review of all Bilateral trade agreements that Kenya has signed with a view of developing a strategy of diversification of Kenya's markets.[13] Dr. Kiptoo is also championing the signing of bilateral trade agreements within new markets.[14] A key example is the Jordan Kenya bilateral trade agreement that will be signed on 13th December 2016 in the presence of the Jordan King and President Kenyatta[15]

Dr. Kiptoo worked for three years at TradeMark East Africa's (TMEA) as the Kenya Country Director.[16] He was appointed to this position beginning in December 2012. His main responsibility is to manage and monitor TMEA"s Kenya country program including; strategy, planning, and delivery of expected results in the fields of regional trade, infrastructure development, modern customs systems, and institutional development of Government institutions.[17]

Dr. Chris Kiptoo with Frank Matsaert  & team for launch of Moi International.  Airport Port Reitz road in Mombasa by uhuru kenyatta

Dr. Kiptoo is widely credited for having competently grown the Kenya Country Program at TMEA especially the Mombasa Port infrastructure capacity and efficiency improvement.[18] He played a lead coordination role in the development of the Mombasa Port Corridor Charter that was signed by 25 trade facilitation agencies in the presence of President Uhuru Kenyatta on 30th June 2014. He played a leading role in the initiation of The Mombasa West Integrated Urban Roads Network Project being implemented in phases, the first of which is already approved and underway (expansion of Port Reitz Road and Airport Road). The proposed second and third phases will include the provision of an additional lane on either side of Kipevu Road and improvement of the existing two lanes on either side; modification of Gate 18 to facilitate the provision of additional three lanes at Gate 18; expansion of Magongo Road section from the Shell petrol station junction to Jomvu; provision of a Mombasa Port gate truck holding ground and expansion of airport road junction through Bomu Hospital to link Magongo road through to the Refinery road up to the Mombasa Nairobi.[19] Dr. Kiptoo also played a leading role in the upgrade of the integrated customs management system of KRA through funding from TMEA.

• Dr. Kiptoo initiated Chepkosom Water Project, in conjunction with the Government, to supply irrigation and drinking water to households.
• Dr. Kiptoo is the chairman of several boards of secondary schools, including St. Patrick's High School (Iten, Kenya), and is the patron of Kapkoi Primary School. At St. Patrick's High School (Iten, Kenya), he leads a project to construct a double-storey administration block, as part of his corporate social responsibility and community work.[20]
• Dr. Kiptoo is the current patron of Kaptagat Integrated Conservation Programme which is key in rehabilitation and restoration of degraded forest areas.[21]

Despite pressure from the community to take political office, Dr. kiptoo has not yielded .

Dr. Kiptoo took his A-levels at St. Patrick's High School (Iten, Kenya), studied Economics at Egerton University, and later acquired a Master’s degree from the same university. Dr. Kiptoo holds several qualifications including a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.) - International Macroeconomics Finance Specialization - from the University of Nairobi.[22] He is also an Accredited Fellow of the Macroeconomic & Financial Management Institute of Eastern & Southern Africa (MEFMI), in the field of Macroeconomic Management. He is also an Associate of the Kenya Chartered Institute of Bankers (A.K.I.B). Dr. Kiptoo has attended several training courses locally, regionally, and internationally including several courses at the IMF Institute in Washington DC, USA.

1. Integrated National Export Development and Promotion Strategy Plus Implementation Plan.[23]
2. Real exchange rate volatility and misalignment: effects on trade and investment in Kenya.[24]
3. The potential impact of the global financial crisis on African economies.[25]