Nock boss quizzed on firm management

A parastatal head was on Wednesday taken to task over its running and for allegedly ignoring Parliament’s summons.

The Parliamentary Committee on Energy accused the National Oil Corporation of Kenya chairman, Mr Peter Munga and its board of micro-managing it and conflict of interest, which threaten its operations.

However, Mr Munga, directors and other managers, who appeared before the committee at Continental House in Nairobi, denied there were divisions in the corporation.

“There’s a lot of synergy between management and the board. The issues that we had in the past have been resolved,” Nock chief executive Sumayya Athmani said.

Mr Munga also said an understanding had been reached between the board and the management and that they were working well.

The chairman denied having stopped the Nock management from meeting the parliamentary committee on Energy.

In a letter to Parliament, Ms Athmani said the board had directed that there should be no direct engagement between the management and the committee unless cleared by the chairman.

Ms Athmani said she wrote the letter because of “the situation at the time” and that she was not directed by anyone.

“I deemed it fit to engage the committee,” she said, adding, concerns had been raised over a retreat in May between the MPs and the Nock management.

MP Emillio Kathuri took issue with Mr Munga for stating that he has only been at Nock for a total of five hours in the six years he has been board chairman.