KPA board of directors makes new managerial changes at port

Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) board of directors has announced major changes at the state corporation.

On Friday, three managers were promoted to replace those elevated to the posts of general managers on March 1.

Patrick Onyango takes over as chief pilot after William Ruto was promoted to the position of general manager Operations and Harbour Master.

Stephen Thoya is the new head of Marine, replacing Rashid Salim who is now the general manager Engineering Services.

Rashid replaced Joseph Atonga who has proceeded on leave pending his retirement in April.

Mrs Irene Mbogo, who was not in the list of those announced by Cabinet Secretary James Macharia, will now replace Boaz Ouko as Head of Human Resources.

KPA Public Relations Manager Benard Osero confirmed the changes which were effected after the board met last Thursday.

“These managers were elevated to new posts following board of directors' meeting last week,”said Osero.

Mrs Mbogo has been elevated to Head of Human Resource instead of Catherine Wangari, who was appointed to the position by the minister following a board meeting on March 1. Wangari will not leave her earlier job as employees' relations officer.

Junior managers

The board also promoted nine other junior managers to replace those who were promoted following a purge, which saw General Manager Operations and Harbour Master Sudi Mwasinago transferred to Kisumu Inland Container Depot.

Others transferred to Kisumu include former Procurement Manager Yobes Oyaro and former Infrastructure General Manager Engineer Abdullahi Samatar. Samatar was replaced by Dan Amadi.

Ouko, the former Head of Human Resource, now holds the post of Human Resource Project.

The board also cancelled the appointment of Robert Watene as acting Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) acting Director General.

The board chaired by Major (Rtd) Marsden Madoka cancelled Watene’s letter of secondment to KMA after KMA's board of directors rejected his appointment. Watene has gone back to work at Bandari college.

Following cancellation of the letter, George Macgoye has been appointed Acting Director General of KMA.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police Ali Gitonga, who is also the Commandant of Kenya Railways and Port Police, has moved his office to the port from Nairobi Railways Station.

Ensure safety

“My office has been moved to Mombasa port from Railways in Nairobi. I will operate in one of the buildings in the port,” said Gitonga.

He said his first priority was to ensure the safety of goods being transported to dry port at Embakasi in Nairobi.

The commandant’s docket is to ensure thieves do not steal containers after being offloaded from the ships until their owners clear them from Mombasa port and at the dry port at Embakasi in Nairobi.

He will also ensure 24-hour police surveillance of railway line from Mombasa to Nairobi.

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