Nine candidates have been shortlisted for the post of Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) director- general.
Acting
KMA boss Cosmas Cherop, the authority’s head of commercial shipping
John Omingo, and former Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) managing director
Musa Hassan Musa are among those shortlisted for the position that
attracted 23 applicants.
The KMA board of directors
also shortlisted Eunice Wacheki Wahuni, Major (Rtd) Nishit Dhanavantrai
Maru, and Container Freight Association of Kenya executive officer
Daniel Nzeki. Others are Evelyn Umazi Mwamure, maritime consultant
Stanley Ndenge Chai, and Julius Nyong’a Segera.
Former
Garsen MP Danson Mungatana was among politicians who had applied, but
was not shortlisted. The board advertised for the position on October 17
for the fourth time.
The position fell vacant over
two years ago when Nancy Karigithu was appointed the Maritime and
Shipping Affairs principal secretary with Mr Cherop taking over in an
acting capacity.
Since then, the process of hiring her
successor has been dogged by controversy with claims of nepotism and a
section of local leaders demanding that the post should be taken up by a
competent professional from the Coast.
Last year, some
activists led by Genesis for Human Rights Commission programme officer
Caleb Ngwena held demonstrations claiming that the board had influenced
the recruitment of senior managers.
The Ethics and
Anti-Corruption Commission also launched investigations into claims of
irregular hiring and flawed tendering by the board.
Some
of those appointments were later cancelled with one group filing a case
at the High Court to restrain the board and management from conducting
any recruitment until a substantive- director general is hired.
The
new boss at the maritime regulator is expected to revitalise the
sector, with the government keen on exploiting the huge potential of the
blue economy.
KMA is constructing a Sh1.8 billion
building that will house its headquarters, giving it more autonomy as a
regulator. KMA is hosted by Kenya Ports Authority, which it regulates.
HPC
Hamburg consultants are conducting a study to establish areas of
capacity building for KMA with the view of strengthening its regulatory
mandate, according to Mr Cherop.
The consultancy is funded by the World Bank to the tune of Sh120 million.
“The
consultant will also assess logistics costs incurred on imports and
exports though Mombasa port,” Mr Cherop said in an earlier interview.
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