KAA board to discuss advertising of post

A move by outgoing Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) boss George Muhoho to invite applications for his post will come under scrutiny when the parastatal’s board meets on Tuesday.

A highly placed source at the board yesterday said the manner in which an advertisement inviting qualified candidates to apply for the post of managing director was placed may be a subject of discussion during the meeting.

According to the source, the board was not aware of the advertisement which appeared just a day after the new KAA chairman, former Runyenjes MP Nyaga Wambora, was introduced to the KAA top management.

“The issue will be looked at because the board was not involved yet the Act establishing Kenya Airports Authority bestows the function of appointing the managing director on the board in conjunction with the minister of Transport,” said the source.

According to the law; “There shall be a managing director of the Authority who shall be appointed by the Minister after consultation with the Board and whose terms and conditions of service shall be determined by the Minister in the instrument of appointment or otherwise in writing from time to time”.

In an interview with our sister paper, the Sunday Nation, last week, the permanent secretary for Transport, Dr Cyrus Njiru, said that the board had not met to approve the advertisement and that the parastatal had sought authority from the government to advertise the position.

“Not every member of the board was consulted,” he said.

Contract

Also, the human resource firm that placed the advert, Manpower Services, had not yet signed a contract with KAA.

Under the public procurement rules, if the contract is found to be illegal and amounting to single-sourcing, Mr Muhoho (left) can be surcharged for misuse of public funds.

But, in an interview with the Sunday Nation, the outgoing managing director, while not denying he had a succession plan in place, said he was not lobbying for the current general manager for planning and engineering services, Mr Stephen Gichuki, to succeed him.