Talks to resolve row at Internet firm
“We are changing the organisational structure to make the institution more effective. Part of my job is to recruit a new chief executive officer and a good team that can deliver the mandate of KeNIC. I am expected to leave the institution with 11 new employees when my contract ends.” Chairman of the Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC) Sammy Buruchara. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
- Meeting to bring together registrars, Internet companies, State officials and other ICT bigwigs
The multi-stakeholder institution charged with administering Kenya’s Internet domain .ke, is hoping to iron out differences over its recent restructuring in its annual general meeting on Friday.
The meeting, which will be held in Nairobi, brings together registrars, government representatives, Internet businesses and other people interested in the ICT sector.
Speaking on Thursday, the organisation’s change manager, Mr Sammy Buruchara, said the forum would provide a good platform for the board of the institution to iron out issues facing the company.
“It will give the board of the Kenya Network Information Centre (KeNIC) an opportunity to clear the air over all the allegations arising from the ongoing organisational restructure and create rapport on the way forward,” Mr Buruchara said.
The AGM comes at a time when the institution is facing questions from the public over its decision to fire all its employees in what it says is an organisational restructure.
A number of board members have also left KeNIC in the past two months.
In an email, Information and Communications Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo termed the decision to terminate employees’ contracts without consulting stakeholders as drastic and unprocedural.
“Even in the Government, firing employees has several steps that must be followed to ensure security of tenure. This came as a surprise, yet we are supposed to be stakeholders. We must all respect the spirit of the Constitution, especially in such a multi-stakeholder agency,” Dr Ndemo said.
In reaction, Mr Buruchara, who is on a three-month contract to oversee the execution of an institutional assessment report prepared by ZappKaas Consulting and Training Ltd, said KeNIC is an organisation with a working board and people should stop questioning its decision.
Currently, KeNIC is the administrator of over 20,000 domains at the .ke registry.
