Power play as Jubilee acts to take over state firms

 

President Kenyatta with the task force at State House Nairobi last week. Photo/FILE 

By MUTHOKI MUMO

In Summary

• Former National Social Security Fund boss Tom Odongo becomes the latest in a growing list of persons shown the door as the government takes hold of State corporations

Former National Social Security Fund (NSSF) boss, Mr Tom Odongo, last week became the latest casualty of power play as Jubilee government moves to tighten its grip on state bodies.

Labour secretary, Mr Kazungu Kambi, leaked his sacking letter to the press without stating the basis of his action.

On Friday, Mr Odongo moved to court to challenge the move. He joins a growing list of big names in government institutions and state corporations that have been sent packing since the Jubilee government assumed power.

The list is expected to grow even lengthier in the coming months in what seems to be a wave of systemic purge being carried out on state institutions and parastatals.

Providence also seems to have conspired to hand the government a clean slate given that several bosses of key institutions, especially in the energy sector, have retired in the last three months or plan to head home before the end of the year.

State house last week acknowledged its ongoing clean up by launching a task-force to reform the policy with respect to state corporations.

Revive parastatals

The 10-member team has now been vested with the responsibility of providing proposals to revive parastatals that have in many cases turned into post-colonial fossils. These proposals, expected no later than September, should turn them into drivers of Kenya’s development goals.

“We are focusing on widespread reforms that will infuse new life to our parastatals,” said President Uhuru Kenyatta.

And there is need for change in Kenya’s state corporations and institutions. Over the decades, many of them have been mired in scandals that have cost the taxpayer billions of shillings.

Mr Odongo is the seventh managing trustee to serve NSSF in a period of five years. The high turnover is attributable to scandals that have rocked the fund and to the fact that politicians have often viewed it as a cash cow.

Before he was sacked from the helm of the Kenya Meat Corporation (KMC) in May, Mr Isaak Haji stood accused of poor performance, breach of procurement rules and failure to implement resolutions made by directors. Mr Haji later moved to court to reverse the decision and he is now steering KMC.

Noble intentions

“Mismanagement, bureaucracy, wastage, incompetence and irresponsibility by directors and employees are the main problems that have made State Corporations (SCs) fail to achieve their performance,” reads a 2011 paper by Ms Alice Miring’u and Ms Esther Muoria in the International Journal of Business and Public Management.

There are, however, concerns that these new noble intentions mask familiar traits of cronyism. In the energy sector, where four powerful parastatals have been left headless, the Jubilee government has been taken to task for appointing acting bosses from President Kenyatta’s and Deputy President William Ruto’s home turfs.

In an article two weeks ago, the Saturday Nation pointed out that the Kenya Electricity Generating

Company’s (KenGen) Eddy Njoroge has been replaced with Simon Ngure. In the Rural Electrification Authority (REA), the post that will soon be left vacant by Zachary Ayieko has been earmarked for Ng’ang’a Munyu.

Deputy President Ruto has received his share of the cake in Kenya Power and the Kenya Pipeline Corporation where Mr Ben Chumo and Mr Charles Tanui have both been given acting positions at the helm.

The task-force set up by President Kenyatta to review parastatal policy draws widely from both the private and the public sector. Treasury principal secretary, Mr Kamau Thugge, has a post on the team as do Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) boss Ms Carole Kariuki and Vision 2030 Director-General, Mr Mugo Kibati.