Directors angered by Uhuru's picks

Kenya: The Institute of Directors (IOD) has criticised the appointments of politicians to head key parastatals and state corporations, insisting that these positions should be filled by qualified individuals who are members of the institute.

This comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta cut state corporations to 79 and picked board members to various parastatals from a pool of elections losers, allies and politically connected individuals.

Notable among these appointments are daughter of former President Mwai Kibaki, Judy Kibaki who will be a member of the Kenya Investment Authority Board as well as Wenwa Odinga, sister to Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who will be a member of the Kenya Medical Research Institute board.

The list of 302 positions created in the parastatal reshuffle is filled mostly by political rejects most of whom were voted out in the last general election, allies and bureaucrats who served in previous regimes.

"In the future we will insist that any person appointed to head or sit on the board of any parastatal, state corporation or any public body must be qualified and a member of the institute," said IOD Chief Executive Officer Meshak Joram.

He spoke yesterday after signing a two-year partnership agreement with the International Finance Corporation, which is a member of the World Bank Group, to promote corporate governance among businesses and institutions in the country.