The Transport Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS), Chris Obure, has announced that the recruitment process to fill the vacant position of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Managing Director (MD), will be done in an open and competitive manner.
Obure said all efforts will be made to recruit a person with a high degree of integrity and professionalism to steer KPA into greater heights of prosperity.
He said KPA Board under the stewardship of General (Rtd), Joseph Kibwana, has instituted watertight process to fill the post that felt vacant after the immediate substantive MD, Dr. Daniel Manduku, resigned March 27, 2020.
“The Board requires adequate time to carry out a transparent process that will see the recruitment of an MD in a free and fair competitive process,” said Obure.
Meanwhile, the KPA Board of Directors has since appointed, Eng. Rashid Salim, as the MD on an acting capacity.
Eng. Salim has been serving as the General Manager at the Engineering Services Department at the facility before his elevation.
Obure said lobbying by Departmental Heads eying the coveted seat were normal in any organization, but assured stakeholders that the next MD will be hired above board.
“I am aware the deadline for closing applications for the advertised post at the giant state parastatal is Friday this week,” he pointed out.
The CAS spoke to the press at the Lunga Lunga border town that straddles the Kenya-Tanzania border while accompanied by his counterparts, Dr. Rashid Aman (Health) and Hussein Dado (Interior).
He assured all interested applicants that the government will ensure the exercise is done above board upon the closure of the recruitment process.
“We will ensure the exercise is open and transparent to the satisfaction of port stakeholders and the government,” he added.
The CAS said the government is aware that the Port of Mombasa, being the gateway to the East and Central Africa and one of the busiest ports along the East African coastline, thus it cannot be left to run without a substantive MD for long.
Shortlisted candidates will be required at the time of the interviews to satisfy the requirements of Chapter Six of the Constitution through provision of Certificate of Good Conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Clearance Certificate from the Higher Education Loans Board, Tax Compliance Certificate from Kenya Revenue Authority, clearance from Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and a Report from an approved Credit Reference Bureau.
By Hussein Abdullahi
