Munyes set to appoint NSSF boss after board interviews

Labour Minister John Munyes is expected to appoint a substantive managing trustee of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) from a list of three candidates shortlisted by the board of the public pension manager.

This is the first time the board of trustees has had a direct role in selecting NSSF’s chief executive. Past bosses have been presidential appointees.

Mr Munyes’ pending appointment crowns the end of the search for a manager of the Sh100 billion-worth public pension fund that has been without a substantive chief executive since the exit of Mr Alex Kazongo in February 2012.

Adan Mohamed, the chairman of the board, said on Friday that names of three candidates had been forwarded to Mr Munyes after interviews of seven applicants who had been forwarded by a professional recruitment firm.

“The board of trustees has been conducting interviews and has completed its process of recruiting a new chief executive of the national pension body,” said Mr Mohamed on Friday.

Among the three is Tom Odongo, who has been acting chief executive since the sacking of Mr Kazongo over incompetence, according to the board of trustees.

Professional

David Bonyi, the company secretary at the Retirement Benefits Authority and Kennedy Odondi are the other potential CEOs of the fund.

Involvement of a professional recruitment firm and the board indicates a growing corporate governance culture in the State institution that has in the past been abused by the political elite.

Political interference in the operations of the NSSF has led to the loss of billions in the pool of workers’ retirement savings through questionable procurement transactions.

NSSF is undertaking a transformation that will see it convert from a provident fund into a public pension scheme.
A law that would guide the transformation received critical backing from the Cabinet last week.