Biography

Mr. Bonifice Makau worked with the Government of Kenya for 27 years, rising from a research officer in the Ministry of Agriculture to the highest level in the Kenyan civil service as a Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Office of the President. He was a member of the founding secretariat for the National Council for Science and Technology where he worked for 13 years and established the system for research grants allocations and was closely involved in the establishment of various public research institutions in the country. Following this, Mr. Makau moved on to join the Ministry of Planning and National Development in 1988 as a Principal Planning Officer and was subsequently transferred to the Office of the President where he rose to Chief Economist and on to PS in charge of special development programmes and government quasi-autonomous institutions or parastatals. He was chair of the preparation of the first poverty reduction plan in the country. Mr. Makau retired from the civil service in 1998 and continued active engagement in the private sector as the Director and owner of Guva Consultancies International Limited. He mainly consults on socio-economic issues including economic development, strategic planning, corporate governance, institutional management and restructuring and baseline surveys. He is currently a member of the Board of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Orgut Consulting Kenya Limited (A Swedish Consulting firm) and Kitandi Secondary School. He is also a member of the Society for International Development. Mr. Makau holds a Bachelor of Science in agriculture from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and Bachelor of Philosophy and Master of Arts in economics from the University of Nairobi. He is married and has four grown up sons.