The 3-year-extension of Dan Kagwe’s tenure at the helm of one of Kenya’s top parastatals has raised questions over the criteria employed for his reappointment.
ICT Cabinet Secretary Joseph Mucheru confirmed the renewal of Kagwe’s tenure as the postmaster general in a gazette notice dated March 9.
This resulted in an immediate outpour of rage from the state corporation’s employees, who accused him of bleeding the parastatal dry.
KEMSA CEO Dr. Jonah Manjari (left) with Postal Corporation of Kenya Postmaster General Mr. Dan Kagwe during the signing of partnership for countrywide delivery of Health Products and Technologies on January 14, 2020.
Facebook
Speaking to kenyagist.com, an employee at the government agency who preferred anonymity revealed that the financial state was bad because the February salary was yet to hit their accounts.
“Our February salaries have been delayed to date. We are all going to stage a peaceful protest against Kagwe’s contract renewal,” the source stated.
According to Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) official Ben Okwaro, employees at the state office complained about being blacklisted by the credit reference bureau for failing to honour loan repayment resulting from delayed salaries.
“Kagwe had mismanaged this corporation. We are therefore calling on ICT Cabinet Secretary Mucheru to revoke his appointment,” Okwaro stated while addressing Posta employees who had staged a go-slow strike at City Square Post Office on Tuesday, March 10.
In his defence, the embattled PMG claimed that accusations levelled against him were baseless and orchestrated by people out to tarnish his record.
“Some of these things which are being said happened when I wasn’t even there. Now we are able to pay salaries from leased assets.
However, the health CS’s brother has been a constant subject of probes by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over corruption and abuse of office claims.
In a letter dated November 21, 2018, DCI boss George Kinoti revealed that he planned to lead a team of detectives to establish how the ailing parastatal awarded tenders in the past three years.
The Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) announced that it had received a letter in October 2019, from industry stakeholders, calling for a thorough investigation of Kagwe over a leasing scandal involving a prime property that is located opposite Yaya Centre Nairobi.
According to details from the letter, the contentious 5.03-acre piece of prime property had been leased to a close ally at Ksh 250,000 – which is well below the market value.
Kagwe was appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta in July 2016 as the Postmaster General and acting Chief Executive Officer at the Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK).
Before joining PCK, he worked extensively in the private sector; finance, courier and logistics industry and the wider East African region for over thirty years, holding senior-level capacities at FedEx, Henkel Kenya and Diners Club International.
