Labour Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui has said he declined to gazette one of the nominees submitted by the workers' umbrella body to the NSSF board of trustees because it lacked ethnic diversity.
Chelugui, in a fresh application before the High Court, said the NSSF board, as currently constituted, has three members from Nyanza.
He said in the event one Rose Omamo is appointed, the board would then comprise four members from the same region out of the maximum seven.
Chelugui added that NSSF lacks ethnic diversity among its senior management staff, and that Cotu still has time to regularise the anomaly by nominating individuals who meet the right criteria set out in the Constitution of Kenya and NSSF.
In his application, the CS wants the court to set aside orders issued by Justice Monica Mbaru which barred NSSF from holding any meetings.
He said the order issued in December last year is damaging to the governance and smooth functioning of NSSF board of trustees mandated to have an oversight over funds worth approximately Sh285 billion of taxpayers' monies.
Chelugui said the fund being taxpayers’ monies stands exposed to theft or mismanagement if the instant application is not allowed.
“The orders granted have paralysed operations of the NSSF, which is impacting negatively on the greater public good,” he added.
On December 24, 2021, Justice Mbaru issued orders restraining Chelugui and the NSSF board of trustees from convening for board matters in the absence of Cotu representatives.
Chelugui and the Attorney General now claim the order was obtained through deliberate concealment and material non-disclosure on the part of Cotu.
“There is imminent risk of the CS, AG and board of trustees of NSSF being denied performing their constitutional mandate to the detriment of public interest. The orders issued on December 24 last year should be set aside," the minister said.
Chelugui’s application is prompted by a petition filed by Cotu last year.
Cotu, in its petition, accused Chelugui of leaving out one of their nominees when it gazetted the board of trustees on October 28.
The workers' organisation said it is entitled to two nominees to the board and the minister did not give explanation for not gazetting the second nominee.
Cotu had submitted two names: Isaac Okello and Rose Omamo on August 12 last year for appointment. Chelugui gazetted only Okello and left out Omamo, a member of Cotu executive.
But Chelugui said that he communicated with Cotu secretary general Francis Atwoli regarding the vacancies in the board, the number of nominees from whom the two appointments would be made and forwarded the nomination requirements.
Among the critical considerations Cotu was to observe were the constitutional requirements of gender and regional diversity to ensure that the nominees were representative of the face of Kenya and that the appointments were merit based.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
