Schism as plan to split top NSSF posts hatched – Weekly Citizen

Even before water comes to settle down after Antony Omerikwa was appointed the managing trustee of National Social Security Fund, trouble is brewing between the Board of Trustees and union officials.

At the centre of the storm is the decision by a section of the board led by chairman Julius Karangi and Marion Mutungi, who is the deputy vice chancellor Kabianga University, to contract a human resource firm to streamline management at NSSF.

PS Tum

Weekly Citizen has established that the firm with offices in Nairobi’s Westlands area has been given instructions to create positions of two deputy managing trustees to report directly to the overstepping Omerikwa. Currently, NSSF does not have deputy managing trustees.

Also being implemented in what is termed NSSF evaluation process is the creation of new positions at management and departmental level. This is happening as majority of the current positions are being held on acting capacity.

Union officials want the board status quo remain and focus be on grade six officers mainly inspectors who for years have stagnated in same position. They also want immediate unlocking of the NSSF Act to facilitate the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to be involved in NSSF court matters. One department Karangi is pushing for changes is that of legal and prosecution which he wants split.

Sources say Karangi after losing the war to have his preferred candidate land the MT slot wants to have a say in the office by having deputies he favours something union officials are completely against.

Jacqueline Mugo

Apart from deputy managing trustees slots, Karangi wants his men in the position of finance manager, procurement manager and manager property and estates for unknown reasons.

Mutungi on the other hand wants to control two departments – that of human resource and information, communication and technology. The positions to be affected if Karangi has his way are general manager Social Security that has two managers – that of Benefits and manager, Registration and Collections. The general manager social security has regional and branch managers under him.

Then we have general manager Investments. Under the office are three managers in charge of Property Development, Property Management and Capital and Money Markets.

The office of general manager Operations has four departments managed by managers. It has manager Information Technology, manager Human Resource, manager Marketing and Brand, manager Finance, manager Procurement and manager Administration.

The third general manager is in charge of Corporate Affairs and Company Secretary. Under him are manager Public Relations and Communication, manager Ethics and Integrity and manager Legal Affairs.

Atwoli

Lastly, is the general manager Strategy, Research and Development. The department has manager, strategy and manager Research and Development.

In a letter dated November 1 2019, parliamentary departmental committee on Labour and Social welfare wrote to NSSF management questioning lack of substantive MT and the fact that a majority of the senior management cadre were serving in acting capacities. The position of MT has since been filled.

The managing trustee responsibilities include facilitation and preparation of the budget, strategies, operational proposals, annual plans and corporate policies for discussion by the board and implement decisions and resolutions adopted by the board.

Further, he must ensure that there is effective communication b e t w e e n management , the board and different levels of management as well as between the fund, g o v e r n m e n t and other stakeholders.

Lekuton

O t h e r trustees are Peter Tum (PS Labour), Jacqueline Mugo (FKE), Francis Atwoli (Cotu), Geoffrey Mwau and Damaris Muhika (Cotu) and Joseph Lekuton.

O t h e r s are Mutungi, Mark Obuya and Antony Omerikwa, the acting managing t r u s t e e / C C NSSF.

We e k l y Citizen has i n f o rma t i o n that Karangi leadership at NSSF is suspect.

A l r e a d y , the office of Auditor General is questioning Karangi many trips abroad at the cost of Kenya workers. The said back-to-back foreign trips are said not to add any value to NSSF. The trips in fact should be of substance if they were educational and management ones benefiting young and hot blood youth at NSSF management not docile, cold blood of Karangi are that was retired from the military.

A source at the Auditor- General office revealed, ever since he named NSSF chair after being haunted out of Kenya Airports Authority as board chair, Karangi has used over Sh10 million on foreign trips. Surprisingly, Karangi does not remit NSSF dues for his workers at a ranch he owns and even has papers dropped to him at his residence every morning by NSSF car.

Weekly Citizen has information that Karangi has been sidelined in corridors of power.

Mwau

Instead, as those he retired with including his at-one-time junior Gordon Kihalangwa has been making headlines in plum state appointments, Karangi is being moved from one parastatal to another to pass time.

The war over the appointment of managing trustee-cum-CEO at the Karangi’s instigation almost landed in courts when Cotu and FKE wrote to Karangi questioning the delay in the naming of substantive CEO even after the board of trustees reached on one nominee.

Upon receiving the letters from the two organisations, Karangi decided to get opinions from the ministry and NSSF legal team. To his surprise, they all agreed, as per NSSF Act, the board is required to forward only one name to the chairman who eventually gives it to the parent ministry to act. That was why Omerikwa landed the slot.

It is now feared that Karangi will start undermining the new Labour, Social Security and Services CS Simon Chelugui for being associated with William Ruto. Already, he has been overheard questioning the manner in which, Ruto daughter’s company landed a lucrative tender at NSSF.