Inside the battle at Nairobi Water

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and former Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company Managing Director Philip Gichuki

Turmoil at the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company (NSWC) has shifted a gear higher after it emerged that there is a plan to overhaul its entire leadership following suspension of its board by Governor Mike Sonko.

So far, it appears the governor, who had a squabble to settle following his embarrassment at the company’s offices as senator in May 2015 when he went to present the grievances of the residents of Eastlands who had gone without water for months, has an upper hand.

Former Managing Director Philip Gichuki was sent on compulsory leave pending retirement immediately Sonko won the gubernatorial seat in August.

Roughed up

Insiders at City Hall say the governor, who was at that time roughed up by employees and forced to apologise, is determined to show who is boss and “will not stop until the company is straightened up.”

“Nairobi County Government, the sole shareholder of the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, is in receipt of serious allegations of misconduct among the board of directors of the NSWC,” reads a letter announcing the suspension by acting County Secretary Leboo ole Morintat sent on Monday.

“Consequently, the county government has suspended all operations of the board including any meeting of the board pending investigation into the cited allegation,” it said.

Sunday Standard has, however, learnt that the board, which had been suspended verbally in August 22 but continued discharging its duties, has decided to stay put amid a fierce power struggle at the firm that has so far sent home majority of its top officials.

So far, three sides have emerged in the feud that has led to a stall in the company’s projects and none has shown signs of backing down.

On one end is the governor who is trying to convince the county assembly to back him, the company’s powerful workers union and the board which has been sent packing.

Sonko’s new dilemma is how to please the Kenya County Governors Workers Union (KCGWU) which has in the last six months caused at least a dozen strikes and has managed to force out whoever they don’t want at the company’s leadership. Apart from roughing up Sonko when he was senator, the workers fell out with the board in August when it fired Gichuki.

“We have given the governor time to sort out the matter because we believe there are investigations ongoing,” said KCGWU branch secretary Matilda Kimetto.

“But as workers let it be known that we cannot work with anyone who was in that board because they wanted to sell us,” said added.

As part of their demands, the workers want the contracts of Steven Mbugua (Commercial Director) and Johnston Ngandu (Financial Director) which expired in June but were not renewed, be extended.

The two, together with Administration Services Director Rosemary Kijana, were sent packing shorty before it emerged that the company had been set up for privatisation.

The board and former Governor Evans Kidero have repeatedly denied this claim.

However, an MOU between French company Suez and NCWSC, shows the opposite.

We have also established that a Cabinet Secretary who introduced officials from Suez to the previous county government, was also instrumental in the now collapsed deal.

“In order to obtain quick and tangible results, it has been agreed between Suez and NCWSC to set up a local private company responsible for implementing specific services and investments, providing an advisory team and assisting NCWSCW in its transformation,” reads part of the six- page MoU.

On August 26, NCWSC called for applications for three senior posts including that of the managing director but cancelled the advertisements a week later under mysterious circumstances.

The cash-strapped company lost at least Sh1.4 million in the process.

Nevertheless, the Sunday Standard, however, understands that the decision to call for applications for the four positions was done against the advice of the company’s secretary.

It is also understood that the governor had also reached out to the board before firing them and asked them to shelve the plan until the county assembly had been constituted but they did it behind his back.

Expressed interest

Also puzzling is why the acting managing director whom we have learnt has also expressed interest in the MD’s position was still expected to sit through the interviews of fellow managers.

Why the board which had already been fired verbally by the governor went ahead and advertised vacancies of senior positions, is anyone’s guess.

The company which is now without a board, a substantive MD and top management, will now use an external human resource firm to fill in the positions.

Mbaruku Vyakwelli, NCWSC’s communication’s manager, however, says the cancellation of the hiring process has nothing to do with the wrangles in the company.

“It has nothing to do with the issue. We decided to cancel the recruitment after realising that we needed to do it through a consultant,” he said on Saturday.

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