More Kenya Airways senior staff changes lined up in bailout bid plans

A Kenya Airways aircraft at JKIA, Nairobi. PHOTO | FILE 

By MUGAMBI MUTEGI, pmutegi@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• Leadership changes to continue as the government seeks long-term bailout solutions for the cash-strapped carrier.
• KQ’s top managers have found themselves in a tight spot, with the Senate calling for their dismissal.

Kenya's Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) James Macharia has hinted at more management changes at Kenya Airways as part of efforts to bring the airline back to profitability.

The minister said the leadership changes are going to continue as the government seeks long-term bailout solutions for the cash-strapped carrier.

The airline, referred to as KQ by its international code, has in recent months seen the exit of several executives, including the finance and human resource heads.

Mr Macharia said the management overhaul after a Sh11.95 billion net loss for the six months to September is not over.

“We are reviewing the entire structure of management to ensure that we have the best people running KQ,” said Mr Macharia, declining to discuss whether the chief executive Mbuvi Ngunze will be affected.

“We are changing management on all levels. This is not a secret. You have seen us asking people at senior levels to leave. We shall be restoring capacity in terms of management.”

The minister was speaking to Kenyan journalists in Brussels, Belgium where he is in the official entourage accompanying President Uhuru Kenyatta for the 2016 European Development Days (EDD) forum.

KQ’s top managers have found themselves in a tight spot, with the Senate calling for their dismissal.

The legislators insist that the Treasury, one of the airline’s shareholders, pegs a Sh60 billion bailout package on the changes.

The airline’s pilots joined the calls for management changes, culminating in a strike last month as they demanded that several managers, including the CEO, leave the national carrier.

They blamed their bosses for poor decisions which they said led to KQ posting a record Sh25.7 billion loss in the 2014/2015 financial year.

The airline’s HR director Alban Mwendar has since exited the company while Captain Paul Mwangi was dropped as director for flight operations but remains a KQ pilot.

Alex Mbugua, the firm’s long-serving finance director, was sacked in January, a move which has seen the former executive sue the airline for alleged wrongful termination.

Mr Mbugua’s exit, and that of other top managers, was seen as the clearest signal by the Treasury of its intent to clean up KQ’s C-suite.

“We are sitting with the board of directors of the airline to see how we can restore its financial viability,” said Mr Macharia. “We have come from very far. Going forward, you will see a very big lot of improvement.”