Former Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Kenneth Marende was among a list of five other contenders who submitted their names as candidates to fill three directorship positions at the State-controlled electricity distributor’s annual general meeting (AGM) held on Friday last week.
Others include three directors who are seeking re-election namely, chairman Eliazar Ochola, Patrick Obath and Jacob Mwirigi.
Shareholders on Friday approved a motion setting the fees for non-executive directors at Sh0.6 million per year or Sh50,000 monthly for the year ended June 2014.
Former Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende is gunning for a boardroom seat at Kenya Power, marking a return to public office following his exit from parliament nearly two years ago.
Mr Marende was among a list of five other contenders who submitted their names as candidates to fill three directorship positions at the State-controlled electricity distributor’s annual general meeting (AGM) held on Friday last week.
Board members of the power firm earn at least Sh0.6 million in director fees per annum and are also be entitled to allowances for attending meetings, lunch, accommodation and mileage.
Kenya Power has about 27,000 shareholders who exercise weighted voting rights —where one’s vote is equivalent to one’s ownership—making the State’s 50.08 per cent stake crucial for anyone to sail through as a director in the utility firm.
“The results will be made public after the votes have been counted and verified,” Beatrice Meso, the Kenya Power company secretary, told shareholders on Friday.
Mr Marende’s competitors include three directors who are seeking re-election namely, chairman Eliazar Ochola, Patrick Obath and Jacob Mwirigi.
The other two newcomers are lawyer Adil Khawaja, a managing partner at Hamilton Harrison & Mathews, and stockbroker Wilson Kimutai.
Kenya Power has a nine-member board that is heavy on government appointees including managing director Ben Chumo, Energy PS Joseph Njoroge and Treasury PS Kamau Thugge.
The power retailer’s payments to directors surged nearly two-thirds to Sh67.3 million in the period to June 2014 from Sh40.9 million a year earlier.
Shareholders on Friday approved a motion setting the fees for non-executive directors at Sh0.6 million per year or Sh50,000 monthly for the year ended June 2014.
Board members formulate company strategies, review budgets, set key performance indicators for the management, as well as risk management controls.
Mr Marende, 58, studied law at the University of Nairobi and was admitted to the bar in 1979.
He first joined parliament in 2002 as MP for Emuhaya constituency and was in 2008 as elected to head the National Assembly during the Grand Coalition government of Kibaki and Raila —earning him the moniker ‘Solomonic speaker.’
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
