West Pokot and Turkana residents have raised questions over the recent state appointments to the Kerio Valley Development Authority board.
Regional Development CS Adan Mohamed appointed 10 more members. Three others were appointed
last November. This brings the number of independent directors to 13, which is in excess of the maximum 10 allowed by the KVDA Act. This has caused confusion.
Those appointed are Pauline Lenguris, Francisca Ereng, Andrew Karumbo, Adan Omar, Leonard Sang, George Irungu, James Kiprop, Grace Were, Eric Bett and Susan Chesiyna. Their three-year appointment is effective from last Thursday.
Last year, former MP Jackson Kiptanui was appointed as the chairman of the board alongside directors Dinah Chelanga and David Komen.
The law says board members should not be more than 10, besides the CEO and ministry representatives. It adds that five should be residents of the region.
The government guidelines for parastatal, however, put the appointment to not more than eight board members.
The government appointed another eight, including the CEO. The Treasury, Water, Regional Development, Agriculture and Health ministries, the Attorney General’s office and the Office of the President have one representative each.
The KVDA operates in eight North Rift counties. Those appointed are mostly politicians from the region and the agency will have to spend extra cash to cater for their monthly allowances, night outs and insurance cover.
Of the 13 directors, four are from Baringo. Some West Pokot and Turkana residents have questioned the rationale for having such a number from one county.
Their representatives Paul Luturko and James Nakuleu want the CS to trim the size to less than 12 to avoid straining the authority financially. Otherwise, there will be a crisis, they said yesterday.
“The KVDA should not be a dumping ground for political appointees, yet it was on the path to recovery,” Nakuleu said.
Only one person from West Pokot, where the authority has most projects, has been appointed.
CEO David Kimosop has been restructuring the corporation to reduce its recurrent expenditure. The authority initiated a voluntary retirement scheme that targeted 400 workers. A bloated board will, therefore, reverse the gains made in cutting costs.
The authority is building two mega dams in Elgeyo Marakwet at a cost of more than Sh65 billion. The Kimwarer and Arror hydropower projects are donor-funded.
Activist Okiya Omtatah has petitioned the court to quash the recent state appointments. He says they are illegal and not done on merit.
The new directors will oversee the implementation of the donor-funded hydropower projects. The National Land Commission has gazetted the sites. More than 1,000 people will be relocated to alternative land, mostly in Trans Nzoia.