By James Anyanzwa

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) Board has rejected the acting Chief Executive Paul Murithi Muthaura as a potential nominee for the job, citing legal implications.

And the CMA board has promised to review the entire recruitment exercise only after the new Government is sworn in a bid to avert the probable legal battles over the new appointment.

The process towards the appointment of a new CMA Boss sunk into more troubles following the Government’s directive to nullify all appointments of public officers made after March 4, terming them ‘illegal’

The latest turn of events is also bound to plunge the market regulator on to a collision course with Treasury, which had fronted Muthaura for the coveted job.

Finance Minister Njeru Githae had earlier asked the CMA board to evaluate Muthaura, who had not applied for the job before, against three other nominees — investment banker Wanjiku Mugane, CMA’s Corporation Secretary Rose Lumumba and Paul Mwai of the Afrika Investment Bank— whose names had initially been rejected.

But yesterday, Chairman Kung’u Gatabaki said although Muthaura is qualified and technically capable, his consideration for the job is as good as an act of illegality because he (Muthaura) never applied for the job in the first place.

Technically good

“ In terms of operations, I have no issues with Paul Muthaura because he is capable and technically good. But we have to follow the procedures and policies laid down by the board on recruitment. As a chairman, I have to follow the board’s decisions.  I want us to go through the procedures. It is a question as to whether we are going through proper procedures in terms of governance,” Gatabaki told The Standard yesterday.

“We do not want to put ourselves and the new CEO in an embarrassing situation, especially when the appointment is challenged in court and it emerges that the appointment has to be overturned.”

The inclusion of Muthaura in the contest for CMA’s top job was part of the options Treasury had availed to the CMA board with hopes of producing a substantive CEO for the authority.

Other alternatives included giving CMA board six more months to conduct a fresh recruitment process, picking one candidate from the previous list of three nominees or carrying out a review of the candidates.

But even as the battle over the control and influence of CMA gets more murky, Treasury absolved itself from blame over the delayed appointment of the new CMA boss, with the Finance Minister saying CMA board has not reverted to him over the decisions it (CMA board) had taken regarding the appointments.

“ I gave the CMA board various options and I’m waiting for them to advise me on the decision they have made. I’m still waiting for them to get back to me,” said Githae adding that he did not want to micro manage CMA but would allow them make their decisions freely.

Revised law

Githae explained that though the revised law gives him powers to appoint the new CEO, he has not deemed it fit to do it without consultation with the CMA board.

But the CMA board is worried about the dangers of recommending the recruitment of a CEO who had never applied for the job in question and against a Government directive that outlaws appointment of public officers until a new Government is in place.

“We now have a judiciary that is completely independent and working. We are going through a transition and even those directors approved by the minister after March 4 will be challenged in court. This has been my fear that we should end up in a situation to spoil the poor man’s career when it emerges that that particular person is not supposed to be the CEO because the minister contravened the law,” said Gatabaki.

Be that as it may, Treasury is expected to have the final say on who is eventually selected to office after the change in legislation that transferred the authority to appoint from the President to the Finance Minister.  The changes were effected in the Finance Bill 2012, which was approved in the final days of the tenth parliament