KPA board 'under pressure' to scrap plum general manager posts

Some of the containers at the Port of Mombasa in Mombasa County on Tuesday 27th September 2022.[FILE,Standard] Jobs for top Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) managers are under threat following the decision of the state to have them scrapped on the grounds that they are uneconomical. General managers who come second in rank after the managing director could find themselves out of a job following a recent decision by the Ministry of Transport to freeze them. A highly placed source confided to The Saturday Standard that the issue touching on the 14 general managers' posts in the port was top of the agenda during the KPA board of directors meeting last Thursday. "Yes, I was tipped about the issue of posts of general managers at KPA as one of the agenda items during last week's board meeting. But I cannot confirm, though it is true the posts have been an issue," said the source. KPA board chairman Benjamin Tayari, who chaired the meeting, was unavailable for comment despite several efforts. However, reliable sources confirmed that Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir sent a circular to Mr Tayari advising the board to make the changes. In January last year, the Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled that the State Corporation Advisory Committee (SCAC) had no mandate to restructure any government department or state corporation. The court made this ruling after the Public Service Commission successfully sued SCAC for overstepping its mandate after it ordered KPA to create 14 General Managers posts instead of eight General Managers of divisions. The PSC argued that the constitution does not allow SCAC to create new posts in any state corporation or in the government departments. According to SC, it was the body mandated to create such a post. The posts under threat are general manager supply chain management, general manager Lamu port, general manager engineering services, general manager infrastructure development, and general manager corporate research, planning, and compliance. Others are the general manager of ferry services, the general manager of cargo operations, the harbour master and marine operation general manager, the finance general manager, legal and board affairs general manager, the Inland Container Depot General Manager, Shimoni port general manager. It was not clear what the board had decided but there was fear that some of the affected managers might be deployed to lower grades or allowed to retire earlier, as there would be no budget for their position in the next financial year. According to other sources, SCAC was to blame for having come up with illegal positions which even the Head of Public Services opposed after the government officials went to court, spending government money on matters which could have been resolved without going to court

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