Ruto home turf bags energy jobs with KPC hiring

 

Mr Charles Tanui and the KPC headquarters (right): The new Kenya Pipeline managing director has been given a three-year-contract. Courtesy 

By Michael Omondi,

In Summary

• The petroleum pipeline operator on Monday confirmed Charles Tanui’s appointment, replacing Selest Kilinda who was sacked in May for hiring three siblings during his reign.
• The appointment of Mr Tanui comes days after Ben Chumo was last Tuesday confirmed as the managing director of Kenya Power while Joshua Choge was tapped as chairman of KenGen on January 3.
• Mr Tanui is expected to lead replacement of 450km Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline

Charles Tanui has been appointed the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) managing director, adding to the list of people from Deputy President William Ruto’s Rift Valley home turf benefiting from top jobs in State-owned firms in the energy sector.

The petroleum pipeline operator on Monday confirmed Mr Tanui’s appointment, replacing Selest Kilinda who was sacked in May for hiring three siblings during his reign.

Mr Tanui has his roots in the Rift Valley, the home turf of the Deputy President and the Energy Cabinet Secretary, Davis Chirchir, who is mandated to pick heads of State-owned firms in his docket.

The appointment of the KPC head comes days after Ben Chumo was last Tuesday confirmed as the managing director of Kenya Power while Joshua Choge was tapped as chairman of KenGen on January 3.

“Tanui who has been holding the position on an acting capacity since May, 2013, has been given a three-year contract by the Government,” KPC said in a statement on Monday.

READ: Charles Tanui confirmed as KPC managing director

Prior to this appointment, Mr Tanui was chief manager, Finance and Strategy in charge of Finance.

Mr Tanui has over the past 21 years held finance role at Kenya Tea Packers Limited, Kenya Airways, Nairobi Java House and Sovereign Group, an investment fund associated with the family and allies of former president Daniel arap Moi.

The focus now turns to three other firms under the energy ministry, KenGen, Rural Electrification Authority (REA) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), which are currently steered by interim CEOs following the exit of their top brass months ago.

Top jobs in KenGen, Kenya Power and KPC are some of the most coveted among State-owned firms given that they control multi-billion shilling contracts.

Last year, they generated a combined sales volume of Sh84.3 billion and Sh18.8 billion profit. KPC revenues were estimated at Sh47.9 billion.

The new boss at Kenya Pipeline Company will be expected to guide the replacement of existing 450km pipeline linking Mombasa and Nairobi, which has outlived its 30-year life span and is prone to ruptures.

Plans to build a new $300 million (Sh25.9 billion) fuel pipeline from the Mombasa port to Nairobi have been on the radar for the past five years.

Many of the products from Kenya’s only refinery in Mombasa have to be trucked to countries in the region, which is slow, expensive and unreliable owing to breakdown of trucks and poor roads.

Mr Kilinda was dismissed on the grounds that during his tenure he hired a sister as a telephonist, a brother as a welder, and another sister as a clerical officer.