Boards should hire CEOs as per law

After their inauguration, boards of State corporations embarked on the crucial mandate of filling vacant positions of Chief Executive Officers.

The recruitment of the CEOs is the single most important function of a board. It is the critical role they play that puts pressure on boards to hire the right persons for these top jobs.

Parastatals under the Ministry of Tourism are among the State firms hiring new bosses. This is underpinned by the low figures of tourist arrivals the country has continued to register in the recent years.

In order to guarantee the best candidate is hired, the Constitution and other Acts of Parliament stipulate who and how the State corporations' heads should be recruited.

The Tourism Act, Mwongozo and Public Service Act provide the qualification and procedure for the person to head the Kenya Utalii College. Other sister firms such as Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Tourism Finance and Kenya Tourism Board have similar arrangements under the law.

Therefore, the boards have no excuse for not filling the vacant slots with qualified and competent CEOs.