KP captain picked amid accountability intrigues
The fate of outgoing Kenya Power acting chief executive Jared Othieno remains unknown as the board appointed another insider, Bernard Ngugi to the corner office.
The new managing director and CEO is expected to reorganise and turn around the utility firm from its dimming profits and scandalous past.
An accountant by profession, Ngugi was the immediate head of procurement serving as the general manager, supply chain. He also served as the chief accountant – treasury section.
The troubled Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed firm, which is 50.1 per cent owned by the government, is expected to bank on his 30 years experience at the firm for leverage amid scandals and poor management.
It is these scandals which saw the ouster of Ken Tarus in July last year leading to the appointment of Othieno. Another 11 general managers were sacked on allegations of economic crimes.
Missing in action
The remaining 11 positions will be filled before the company’s next annual general meeting. However, by the time of going to press, it was not clear what role Othieno will take going forward, having served as the acting general manager for street lighting before he took over the corner office.
Othieno was not in attendance during the announcement of the new CEO.
For Ngugi however, his appointment could be overshadowed by governance concerns since various controversies that rocked the utility firm, particularly in the last 10 years, happened when he was in charge of supply chain and logistics and a member of the executive team.
Among these questionable business deals include the procurement of defective transformers, irregularities in pre-qualifying 525 companies for labour and transport contracts as well as a multi-billion-shilling electricity poles business.
According to the Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji the public could have lost Sh201 million through corrupt deals at KP, saying the theft could have been engineered in conjunction with some top managers supplying faulty transformers to the company. This led to the prosecution of former managing directors Ben Chumo and Ken Tarus.
Competition Authority of Kenya and Directorate of Criminal Investigations are said to have zeroed in on price-fixing, collusive tendering — a process in which firms agree to share out contracts between themselves and/or to fix the price bids — and cartel-like behaviour in the poles business.
Among those being keenly followed in this deal are top KP managers, suppliers, and a Cabinet secretary.
Speaking during the unveiling process, chairman Mahboub Maalim said in selecting Ngugi, the board considered his expertise in financial and revenue accounting, internal audit and supply chain management, areas that were of great concern to the company and where he excelled.
Strengthening business
“We believe that Ngugi will see the company through an important stage of its development and growth as we work to diligently implement all our plans to strengthen the company and the commercial aspects of the business,” said Maalim.
When probed about other candidates for the position, the chairman declined to answer, citing confidentiality of the process.
Ngugi said his immediate task was to align the company’s resources, systems and processes.
“There are so many things we can do, but have been hitting the wrong button,” he said.
