- Stakeholders held that the managing trustee now stands a chance to fill the remaining positions which are yet to be filled substantively.
- The concern was that the acting positions cannot guarantee pensioners that they have safeguarded public resources at NSSF.
National Social Security Fund (NSSF) stakeholders will not pursue an intended suit over the delayed appointment of the funds’ managing trustee.
This follows the substantive appointment of Antony Omerikwa as the chief executive of the fund for three years.
COTU boss Francis Atwoli told the Star yesterday that they have instructed their lawyers to drop the matter citing satisfaction with the board’s decision.
“We withdrew after the name was gazetted. We thank the chairman for moving fast to ensure that the position is not held in acting capacity any longer,” he said.
Atwoli said their earlier concern was that the NSSF, with the billions in pensioners’ contributions, was running without a duly appointed managing trustee.
“It was difficult for the management to take a decisive stance on key matters affecting the fund, we are glad this now ends.”
Omerikwa has been the acting NSSF managing trustee for the past four years and eight months, a situation that drew the attention of the Auditor General.
Former Auditor General Edward Ouko, in his June 2018 audit, flagged the situation after the management failed to give reasons why the posts were not duly filled.
Interviews for the position, to which the CEO was confirmed by Labour Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani (acting Treasury CS) in the November 22 notice, were held in June.
Omerikwa’s appointment is likely to end the upheavals that followed the four-year wait by stakeholders for the post to be filled. It was advertised three times.
Stakeholders held that the managing trustee now stands a chance to fill the remaining positions which are yet to be filled substantively.
They are managers of Finance and Investments, Corporation Secretary, Finance, Capital Money Markets, and Property Management.
The posts of ICT, Communications, and Property Development managers are the only ones with substantive officeholders.
The Public Investments Committee (PIC) chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir said the situation must be allowed to continue.
Their concern was that the acting positions cannot guarantee pensioners that they have safeguarded public resources at NSSF.
Members of the parliamentary oversight committee said the Fund holds a lot of meaning for this country for such a situation to persist.
Some quarters cited divisions in the board as the cause for the delay, a situation that manifested last Thursday when the team failed to raise a quorum for them to respond to audit queries before the PIC.
NSSF board is composed of Gen (Rtd) Julius Karangi (Chairperson), Atwoli (Workers’ representative), Labour PS Peter Tum, and Jacqueline Mugo (FKE).
Others are Dulacho Barako, Damaris Muhika (Cotu), Joseph Lekuton, Prof Marion Mutugi, and Mark Obuya.