How Were Water Board Directors Picked?

House Committee on Water and Sanitation is not aware about the new Board members
the water company MD to be summoned to shed light on the appointments.

By Adieri Mulaa

A House committee has put Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) on the spot over the manner in which new Board of directors were appointed.

Nairobi County Assembly sectoral Committee on Water and Sanitation is questioning the criteria used to pick new directors of the management Board.

The Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nairobi City County Government with 100% shareholding.

In April 2022, Lawyer Anorld Karanja was reportedly elected a chairman of NCWSC new management Board of directors at the inaugural meeting of the Board members who were named by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja.

“As a Committee, we are not aware who is serving on that Board. We can’t even tell where or how election of the Board chairperson and vice chairperson was held”, says the Committee chairman, Mr Redson Otieno.

Speaking to The Times at the Assembly, the Chairman divulged that the Water Committee was seeking several clarifications on how the new board of directors were appointed.

He indicated that the Committee would summon the Managing Director of Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, Eng. Nahason Muguna to shed light on how the appointments of the new Board members were done.

The other members of the board of management are the Vice Chairperson, Ms Beryl Okumu, Ms Emmah Mukuhi Muthoni (Finance Committee), Cedric Alaro (Technical, Commercial and ICT Committee), Ms Rose Esther Wamuiya (Audit, Risk and Governance), Mr Johnstone Mukabwa (Human Resource, Administration and Communication) and Hon. Robow Mohamed Hassan.

Mr Otieno who is also the MCA for Ngei Ward in Mathare constituency, disclosed that the sectoral Committee on Water and Sanitation would like to establish the number of bidders who applied for the positions of Board members.

The Committee, he said, also wants to know the number of bidders who were shortlisted and the scores they were awarded by the selection panel.

Further, the Committee is seeking explanation regarding the company which was awarded consultancy services for the tender on selection of eligible applicants to the positions of Board members.

In addition, Otieno added, the Committee wants to be furnished with minutes of the evaluation committee and the criteria used to award tender to the company which undertook the selection process.

“The Committee seeks to find out the number of people who applied for the position of board of directors of Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company”, the Water Committee Chairman told The Times.

As a Committee, we also want to know the number of applicants who were shortlisted, the criteria used for shortlisting and the list of all applicants, he noted.