Leadership headache at NSSF as acting chiefs hold the fort

From left: NSSF acting Registration and Collections Manager, Evans Ombui, acting General Manager (Corporate Affairs/Corporation Secretary) Austin Ouko, acting Manager Finance and Investment Moses Cheseto, acting Managing Trustee/CEO Anthony Omerikwa, Manager Property Development Peter Muiruri when they appeared before Public Investments Committee on May 16, 2018. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • That so many senior managers who practically are the Fund’s engine could be in the hands of acting officials for an indefinite period raises serious questions about NSSF’s corporate governance.

  • NSSF's core objective is to collect, invest and pay members benefits but with the key positions that’s should oversee that occupied with people not certain of their positions, points to a bigger problem.

  • With a majority of the senior managers acting, it has been difficult for the executive committee of the management to meet and fill positions of managers.

On Thursday, the Daily Nation carried a picture of senior managers of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) when they appeared before the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee.

A cursory look at the picture and the accompanying caption said nothing other than that the senior managers were before the parliamentary committee. But a keen observer would have noted what amounts to a serious corporate governance problem with the Fund’s management. All the senior managers who were before the PIC, including Dr Anthony Omerikwa, are all serving in acting capacity.

“NSSF acting registration and collections manager Evans Ombui, acting GM (general manager) corporate affairs Austin Ouko, acting general manager finance and investments Moses Cheseto, acting managing trustee Anthony Omerikwa, and manager property development Peter Muiruri at Parliament in Nairobi yesterday (Wednesday),” the caption read.

NON-SUBSTANTIVE

The Sunday Nation has since established that those named above are just a small portion of a larger corporate governance problem at NSSF where majority of the senior managers are serving in  acting capacity, some even for more than three years.

For instance, today ushers in the 37th month or three years and a month since Dr Omerikwa took over the leadership of NSSF in acting capacity. This in itself could have flouted human resource best practices that gives acting heads six months during which time the appointing body should put in place a mechanism for competitive recruitment.

Of NSSF’s five general managers, four are serving in an acting capacity. They are Dr Omerikwa, who besides being the acting managing trustee, is also the acting general manager operations; Mr Austin Ouko who is the acting general manager corporate affairs and company secretary; Mr Moses Cheseto,  who is the acting general manager finance and investments and Nancy Mwangi, who is the acting general manager social security. Ms Mwangi is currently on terminal leave pending retirement, which means that the position could be held by a non-substantive office holder for much longer.

QUESTIONS

Only Mr Joseph Kimote, the general manager in charge of strategy, research and development is holding the position in a substantive capacity.

At the level of managers, NSSF’s organisation structure available on its website shows that there are 17 positions overseen by the five general managers. Of these, eight are held by managers serving in acting capacity.

They are manager in charge of registration and collections, under social security GM; managers in charge of IT, finance and procurement, under GM Operations; manager in charge of research and development, under GM strategy, research and development; legal manager, under corporate affairs GM and manager in charge of property management, under GM investments.

That so many senior managers who practically are the Fund’s engine could be in the hands of acting officials for an indefinite period raises serious questions about NSSF’s corporate governance.

COMPETITIVELY

NSSF's core objective is to collect, invest and pay members benefits but with the key positions that’s should oversee that occupied with people not certain of their positions, points to a bigger problem. With a majority of the senior managers acting, it has been difficult for the executive committee of the management to meet and fill positions of managers.

“It is true most senior officers are holding the positions in acting capacity. There have been several attempts to recruit managing trustee but they ended in a false start due to court injunctions stopping the process from advancing,”  Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani admitted.

He however said it was expected that after the managing trustee position is filled substantively then other positions will be filled competitively.

According to Mr Yatani, the situation was not healthy, from a corporate governance perspective.

“But it will be fixed soon,” he assured.