By Macharia Kamau

Catherine Musakali answers to the title chairman. Not because she is seeking equality but because politically correct terms like chairperson are yet to be embedded in the institutional memory of the body she chairs given that all previous chairs have been men.

She also answers to the title because the law that created the body makes reference to the term chairman unlike other Acts that provide for chairperson. She quips that perhaps at the time, it was never imagined that a woman would one day chair the Institute.

Private sector
In May, Musakali was elected to chair the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya (ICPSK), a body created by an Act of Parliament in 1988 to push for good governance among public and private sector organisations.

But in the first few months of her chairing the institute, she has had to grapple with the title of chairman that is entrenched in the minds of members as well as the Act that created the Institute.

Other than that, there is the chairman’s chain of office that was donated to the Institute by a previous chairman and one that is physically too ‘manly’ for the comfort of many women.

“The Act makes reference to a chairman and it has been natural to make reference to the chairman. There are arguments that the term is gender sensitive and can be applied to a person of either gender while there are some members who feel the term chairperson is more appropriate,” she said.

“I have no problem with both titles and I will answer to either. However, I think that it is an area that we could re-look at especially if it makes some of the members uncomfortable.”

“The chain of office is quite manly and again there are some views that we should change it to be more gender neutral. For me, it is about what it represents, the roles and responsibilities of the person in that office.”

The political correctness aside, one might argue that tenure would be an unenviable one. She is coming into office when there is what can be termed as an unusually high number of poor governance cases in the public and private sector.

The number of institutions whose directors and management are accused of mismanagement brings to fore the question whether ICPSK has delivered on its role of promoting good governance.

“What has changed in Kenya is that people have become more aware of their rights and are demanding good governance from all institutions both public and private,” she said.

“I would say that the Institute has done very well in advocating for good governance. It has been very vocal on governance issues. One of its mandates is to share best practices and now the general public want these practices entrenched in institutions where they have a stake in, whether public or private.”

Under her watch, Musakali said she will work to increase the visibility of ICPSK. While it may have been working behind the scenes in promoting governance issues, the institute still remains largely unknown.

She, however, says she will try to make it a reference point for governance for all organisations private and public as well as large and small. She also wants the institute to assist practising company secretaries in other East African Community states to set up their own professional bodies so that eventually they can come together in the formation of an EAC secretaries’ body.

“I will make sure that ICPSK becomes more recognised as a champion of governance in Kenya,” she said.
professional bodies

“In EAC, Kenya is the only one with an organised Certified Public Secretaries (CPS) professional body... this means while Kenyans can move to other countries and practice, their counterparts will find it difficult to come to Kenya and practice unless

they are certified under our Act.”
“We are pushing for the formation of professional bodies in the other EAC countries. Rwanda has recently registered one such body. We will also push for a regional professional body that will give us a better platform for global representation.”

ICPSK has acquired a plot in Nairobi’s Upperhill and Musakali says plans are on to put a modern headquarters.

“By the time I leave, plans for a high-rise building at our property will be at advanced. I plan to ensure that construction works will have started... the building will be a revenue stream for the Institute and the idea at the moment is to co-own it with the members,” she said.

The Institute has a small membership that does not reflect its more than two decades of existence.

To grow the numbers, Musakali plans to increase marketing, especially in universities, where students can take up the ICPSK courses alongside their undergraduate studies. This something akin to what the Institute of Certified Public Accountants (ICPAK) does with aspiring accountants. She said membership can grow by a margin of 15 per cent every year.

Musakali has been the company secretary of the Kenyan operation of a multinational firm since 2000. She has a masters degree in law from the University of Nairobi and has previously sat in several boards including the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Away from excelling in an industry that has traditionally been a preserve of men, she is both a wife and a mother, with three children aged between seven and 15 and says family values are high on her priority list.
work-life balance

“Work-life balance is a challenge because in my capacity at work I do not have the pleasure of working eight to five, I can leave the office as late as eight in the evening. But I make time and ensure that my weekends are wholly dedicated to the family,” she said.

“We meet every month as the wider family – that is my brothers and sisters and their spouses. At least once in a year, we make sure that we bring every member of our family – including the children – together at one gathering.”

And to unwind, she reads and she is currently reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Love, Pray.

“I love reading to bits and it is the primary reason why I bought a tablet... I have run out storage space in my house to keep hard copies of books and hence why am turning to e-books. That in addition to the fact that they are a lot cheaper,” she said.