Board rows to blame for hitches in hiring new airports director

The delay in hiring a new Kenya Airports Authority managing director has highlighted a split in the board of directors and sparked speculation about competing political interests in the Jubilee coalition.

The Nation has learnt that the process has stalled three times after interviews by the board for shortlisted candidates were cancelled at the last minute due to what was said to be lack of quorum.

This is despite PricewaterhouseCoopers, a professional services consultancy, giving out a list of six shortlisted candidates a month ago.

The board is supposed to provide three names to Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia to fill the crucial position in which Mr Yatich Kagungo has been acting since March last year when Ms Lucy Mbugua resigned.

PwC was called in after the Cabinet Secretary cancelled the recruitment that the board was carrying out after claims of political interference.

Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity attributed the delay in filling the position to vested interests among some board members acting on behalf of political and business interests with an eye on various multi-billion-shilling airport tenders.

“There is speculation that some senior URP politicians want their man to take over while influential individuals in the TNA side believe the authority should be managed by someone picked by them,” said a senior manager, who requested anonymity in order to discuss the intrigues freely.

13 ACTING MANAGERS

Apart from the stand-in boss, 13 other top managers are working in an acting capacity, which is impacting on Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and others throughout the country.

Most of the positions were left vacant after the office holders were suspended over corruption allegations since last year.

There is more confusion on the filling of these positions as the substantive managing director is expected to be involved in the recruitment of senior managers.

The Transport Cabinet Secretary acknowledged the problem.

“It is a big impediment to effective management because when people are acting they don’t make decisions as they fear it might backfire and they won’t be confirmed,” Mr Macharia told the Sunday Nation.

He added: “Even donors have complained that the projects are very slow in terms of take up and that affects our performance as a sector.”

Two legal suits related to the top position are in court.

The hearing of one in which the Consumers Federation of Kenya is challenging the recruitment process is set to begin on Wednesday.

THEATRE OF INTRIGUES

In the second case, two parking fees attendants want a court to compel the board to sack Mr Kangugo for unfairly barring them from Mombasa International Airport after an altercation with the driver of Tourism CS Najib Balala in the course of their duties in March 2014.

Mr Kangugo, who was in charge of the coastal airport at the time of the alleged incident, told the court “the suit is meant to bar him from contesting for the managing director’s post.”

“The applicants’ notice of motion lacks merit and has no basis in law but is only driven by malice purposely to deny me the opportunity to participate in the forthcoming recruitment of the managing director of the Kenya Airports Authority,” he said in court papers.

The authority has been a theatre of intrigues for years, with frequent sacking of various managing directors and senior managers.

Mr Macharia, who recently met the board over the delay in filling the management positions, has expressed concern about the stalemate.

“I have told them, ‘look we are expected to work harmoniously for the common interest of the country’. If someone comes with their own agenda, we have given notice that we shall not tolerate anybody of that nature,” he said.

The Cabinet Secretary expressed his frustration over the running of some government institutions. “Of late I don’t know what is happening in some of these parastatals. People are not conducting themselves as per the Mwongozo principles,” he said, referring to a governance policy developed by the Jubilee government.

The Transport committee of the National Assembly, which was recently in the US to generate investor interest in an envisioned JKIA Sky City, said it would intervene if the stalemate is not sorted out.

“It has not reached a level where the intervention of Parliament is needed but it is something we are considering,” said committee chairman Maina Kamanda, who is also the Starehe MP.

A source at the authority said the bitter fight for control of resources has made some board members act as if they were managers, adding that they are seen within JKIA almost on a daily basis.

“Some board members issue instructions and threats while trying to sabotage the (acting) MD. One of them even told him to his face that they won’t hire him,” said the source.

As this happens, an audit by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that was to be done last month to determine whether JKIA would be upgraded to Category 1 status, is yet to happen.

The Civil Aviation Amendment Bill 2015 that would integrate international standards with the country’s aviation laws is also yet to be brought to Parliament.

President Uhuru Kenyatta also appears to have given a wide berth the official opening of Terminal 1A and 1E of JKIA, even after it had been reported that he was going to commission them.

Mr Kangugo told the media on March 8 that the President would open the two terminals, which would increase JKIA’s capacity. The two terminals silently began operations two weeks ago.

But Mr Kamanda insists everything is still on course.

“A number of US airlines expressed interest to start operations to Kenya while we were there. They are just waiting for approval,” he said.

As the sole owner of all public airports and airstrips in the country, KAA generates at least Sh10 billion a year as revenue. It also issues many lucrative tenders, which have been linked to the vicious fights for control.