A 2019 directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta to the Kenya Port Authority (KPA) to employ 52 people, even without academic qualifications and in total disregard of the law, has come back to haunt the organisation's top boss.
A parliamentary committee is now demanding details of those employed, their qualifications and the salaries they earned after it emerged that those employed had Kenya Certificate of Primary of Education (KCPE) qualifications while others had no formal education at all.
The National Assembly's Public Investment Committee on Energy and Commerce says the employment was in total violation of the law which requires such positions to be advertised and competitive interviews to be conducted to select the best candidate.
The committee, chaired by Pokot South's David Pkosing in a meeting with the KPA management led by the managing director William Ruto, says then managing director Daniel Manduku (now MP for Nyaribari Masaba) should be prosecuted for implementing the directive without following the law.
While the committee agreed that the presidential directive could not be ignored, it was the responsibility of the managing director to ensure that it was implemented within the confines of the law.
"We need the names of all those who were employed under this directive by close of business tomorrow (Wednesday). If we find out that they have been earning irregularly, then the person who signed their letters should be sanctioned. As far as I know, he is now our colleague here in Parliament," Mr Pkosing said.
Mr Pkosing asked Mr Ruto to also provide the committee with a copy of the presidential directive by the end of today.
The issue was so heated that Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri even urged the committee to summon the former president over the matter.
"Who was this sitting president, we need to summon him and the then head of the civil service," said Mr Kiunjuri.
Aldai MP Marianne Kitany said the presidential directive did not supersede the law, which the CEO should have followed.
"Whether a directive is given or not, it does not give you the authority to break the law. When such directives are given, they're usually implemented within the law," Ms Kitany said.
"Presidential directives are always verbal but are always followed by a letter from the Office of the President," she added.
In an audit report for the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 financial years, two 52 staff were recruited in accordance with a presidential directive communicated through letter reference MOT/C/SM/004/2VOL.II/65 dated 22 October 2019 on the employment of KPA choir members.
"Therefore, the new staff were recruited in contravention of the Authority's Scheme of Service which requires a minimum qualification of D (Plain) in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) to be employed as choir members. Consequently, management is in breach of the law," reads the audit report being considered by the committee.
"Therefore, the new staff were recruited contrary to the Authority's Scheme of Service which requires a minimum qualification of D (Plain) in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) to be employed as choir members. Consequently, the management is in breach of the law," the report added.
Mr Ruto told the committee that while the 52 were initially recruited as choir members, they have since been recruited as dockers.
"They are employed as port workers but when we have an event, they entertain our guests," Mr Ruto said.
He told the MPs that dockers don't need qualifications: "You don't need a qualification to carry or load sugar.
"The 52 choir members were recruited as port workers under a presidential directive. This necessitated the management to waive the KCSE D (simple) requirement to ensure that the directive was implemented without discriminating against any employee," said Mr Ruto.
But the committee said that choir services can be outsourced, so it's outrageous for the KPA to employ them on a full-time basis.
"What do these people do when there is no special event? Because singing is not a full-time job," Ms Kitany asked.
Mr Pkosing said he had been to KPA several times in his capacity as Speaker of Parliament, both in the 12th and 13th Parliaments, but had never used the services of the choir.
"Who are these people singing for? What dignitaries? I have been to KPA on official business as the leader of a parliamentary party, but I have never seen them," said Mr Pkosing.
