Postal Corporation of Kenya workers have threatened legal action following ICT CS Joe Mucheru’s decision to extend Dan Kagwe’s tenure as chief executive.
Mucheru, in a gazette notice dated March 9, confirmed another three years for Kagwe as the corporation’s postmaster general, overlooking PCK’s board suggestion.
The board had forwarded three names of current general managers at the state entity to the CS including Peter Kirui (Finance), Milcah Mugwe (Mails) and Julius Opimi (Company Secretary) for appointment.
The decision has caused uproar by Posta workers, who claimed Kagwe has mismanaged the firm leading into massive losses.
The Communication Workers Union (COWU) general secretary Benson Okwaro said the ailing parastatal faces mounting debts to a tune of Sh4.9 billion in non-payment of its 2,000 staff and retirees.
Workers also accused Posta of failing to remit statutory dues and settle payments to suppliers.
“It cannot remit employees’ statutory deductions to the NHIF, the National Pension Fund, cooperative unions, bank, saccos and other service providers,” Okwaro said.
He said Posta owes banks and other service providers an excess of Sh3.6 billion against an annual revenue of Sh2.2 million.
In a letter dated November 21, 2018, DCI boss George Kinoti revealed that he planned to lead a team of detectives to establish how the ailing parastatal awarded tenders in the past three years.
The Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) announced that it had received a letter in October 2019, from industry stakeholders, calling for a thorough investigation of Kagwe over a leasing scandal involving a prime property that is located opposite Yaya Centre Nairobi.
According to details from the letter, the contentious 5.03-acre piece of prime property had been leased to a close ally at Sh250,000 - which is well below the market value.
Kagwe was appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta in July 2016 as the Postmaster General and acting Chief Executive Officer at the Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK).
Before joining PCK, he worked extensively in the private sector; finance, courier and logistics industry and the wider East African region for over thirty years, holding senior-level capacities at FedEx, Henkel Kenya and Diners Club International.
