Corporate World- Kenya kills her sun

Principles of organization is as opined by management gurus and critical thinkers e.g. Max Weber, Peter Drucker, Kotler, Francis Bacon et al. are so clear that any serious management/administration student will grasp and deconstruct with ease.

These principles are well taught in Kenyan colleges, universities, technical institutions thus equipping our students with competitive knowledge and skills to run institutions globally. 

Notably, the Kenya corporate leadership is slowly being taken over by foreign experts. This begs the questions; where do our trained and experienced manpower go? Is there lack of trust or confidence on our own?

A look at a few companies shows that Kenyans are not trusted to captain organizations or their leadership and administration prowess is simply not in tandem with the corporate objectives;

1. Telephone Companies

For two consecutive times, a company like Safaricom tasked foreign brains to captain its operations. There are able, innovative and results-oriented Kenyans who possess the potential to run such a company but have continuously been given a blind eye in favor of the expatriates. It's until the 'immediate former' CEO, Bob Collymore left that a Kenyan was given the opportunity to run the leading mobile phone service provider. 

2. Kenya Airways

The struggling national carrier has had its share of financial hardship. During its hardest times, the airline has been under the leadership of locals. This could be the reason why the management and government deemed it necessary to source a CEO from overseas. I'm of the conviction that we have Kenyans who can run the carrier effectively and efficiently. Perhaps its lack of integrity on the part of the Kenyans who have been tasked with running the company there before that has led to little or no confidence in our own. 

3. Major Supermarkets

Some major retail shops in the country have tasked foreign experts with the role of streamlining their operations. The experts are brought in to add value to the supermarkets' services marketing. There are experienced managers and marketers in the country who can equally perform these tasks. In marketing, understanding and applying the 7 Ps is crucial. You can't argue that it's the foreign experts who understand the Ps in relation to local market better than locals.

4. Hotels

The leadership of several hotels has been a "preserve" of foreign hoteliers. Sadly qualified Kenyans continue to languish in unemployment or not-meaningful employment. The ministry of tourism is busy marketing Kenya as a destination (which is a good thing) but has forgotten to regulate/restrict the human resource structure. 

5. Universities

There are universities in the country that are headed by foreign scholars begging the question, "Why are our distinguished scholars not getting the opportunities?" Is it a lack of confidence in our own or it's in pursuit of international education standards? 

Conclusion

Whilst one may argue that many of the organizations aforementioned are privately owned, it's unreasonable and unfair to give preference to foreign experts when we have local brains that can deliver equally. Ken Sarowiwa once wrote a short story, "Africa Kills Her Sun." Indeed looking at the rate at which foreign captains are being absorbed in our country, the future is dark for homemade managers. We need labor laws/regulations which benefit the locals.

Hon Charles Bazenga.