Geothermal production site.[Photo/kengen.co.ke]In the last three years, energy sector parastatals have seen a dramatic exit of high profile executives, most of whom had attained their mandatory retirement age of 60. However, some were pushed out by courts in a sector considered a key enabler of the country’s social-economic growth.
Indeed, consumers have high expectations from the executives who run these sensitive and critical organizations. To raise power production by further exploiting the vast geothermal, wind and solar resources the country banks on Kenya Electricity Generating Company’s (KenGen) Rebecca Miano who was recently confirmed as first woman managing director and chief executive of the State-owned firm after the exit of former CEO Albert Mugo after attaining the retirement age of 60.
Until her appointment, Miano was responsible for driving the corporate governance agenda at the company, Her counterpart MaryJane Mwangi of National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) was confirmed chief executive officer and managing director effective August last year has been the acting CEO since July 11, 2016.
MaryJane replaced Sumayya Hassan-Athmani who had proceeded on terminal leave ahead of contract expiry in March last year. She is expected to deliver the national rollout of Sh2,000 subsidized cooking gas for the poor.
Kenya Pipeline Company’s appointment of Joe Sang as managing director ended a 12-month vacuum after the suspension of Charles Tonui for allegedly awarding a Sh29 million contract irregularly.
Sang was previously general manager in-charge of finance and strategy and acted for a while as CEO. The firm earns billions of shillings every year for pumping imported oil on behalf of petroleum companies from Mombasa to Nairobi and onwards to Western Kenya. He will also foresee multi-billion shilling infrastructure projects such as the new Sh53 billion Mombasa pipeline being developed.
At the Kenya Power and Lighting Company, Kenneth Tarus took over from Dr. Ben Chumo as the acting managing director on January 7, 2017, after Chumo, who had been chief executive since 2014 attained the mandatory retirement age of 60.