Jostling for top KPA job expected ahead of MD’s exit

What you need to know:

Gichiri Ndua’s second term at the helm of the parastatal ends on July 31 and will not be eligible for renewal.

The jostling for the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) managing director position is set to start following an announcement by the current boss, Gichiri Ndua, that he will leave office this July.

Mr Ndua’s second term at the helm of the parastatal ends on July 31 and will not be eligible for renewal.

As an entry point not just to Kenya but the land locked neighbours, Mombasa port is considered a strategic national asset whose top leadership always attracts keen interest, especially from politicians at the Coast.

Mr Ndua, an economist, joined KPA as a project analyst in 1984 and rose through the ranks to assume leadership in 2010 when his predecessor James Mulewa was sent home by the board following accusations of abuse office.

The KPA board chairman Major (Rtd) Marsden Madoka told the Business Daily that the firm is yet to start the process of hiring Mr Ndua’s successor.

The KPA Act says the MD shall be appointed by the Cabinet secretary after consultation with the board.

This is the second high-profile position that the Transport ministry, headed by James Macharia, will fill this year, with the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) also looking for a head.

In the past, Coast politicians have demanded that the KPA boss position as well as 80 per cent of the jobs at the Mombasa port be given to locals.
Mombasa County has also been demanding a portion of the revenues generated at the port.

Mr Ndua’s tenure at KPA saw the port’s revenues and cargo handled rise significantly. In 2014, the port hit the one million containers handling mark, with revenues rising to Sh30.7 billion.

But the port has also been adversely mentioned in connection with smuggling of goods like sugar, ethanol and ivory worth billions of shillings.

The new MD will come in at a time when the port of Momabsa is expanding rapidly as it seeks to maintain its competitive edge over Dar es Salaam.

A new Sh30.9 billion terminal will be ready for use from April this year, increasing container space by 450,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).