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    "id": 615231,
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    "content": "employed lawfully and efficiently hence the need to have the representatives in the board. However, the Committee noted that the two representatives were not constant in the attendance of board meetings, therefore, reneging on the responsibility assigned to them. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, when we had discussions with both the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Transport and Infrastructure and the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury, we were surprised that in both Ministries, there is a department called corporate affairs. In other words, it deals with relations with parastatals in both Ministries and was not very strong. No wonder participation in boards of Kenya Airways is rather taken at a low tier and quite often maybe those going to those boards are not up to date with the information. However, in such Ministries, we need a department of corporate affairs with individuals tasked with following up such major investments of Kenya Airways on a regular basis, giving the Government up to date information and having research capacities to know what is happening in such companies, so that when Government representatives go to boards, they go not just as bodies but as brains. Thirdly, the management of Kenya Airways is over represented in the Board, consequently undermining the Board’s control and oversight. The Committee was unable to tell the skills the members offered to the Board. Fourthly, the current Group Managing Director and Chief Executive officer of Kenya Airways, as said earlier, at the point of his appointment, it was done--- according to the manual not according to us. At that point in time, he was not qualified to be appointed yet the board waived that qualification on grounds that did not persuade us. Fifth, The Board of Kenya Airways submitted to the Committee that it exercised its discretion to waive the requirement for 8 to 10 years’ experience which allowed the current Group Director and Chief Executive Officer to be recruited as Chief Operating Officer. I had said this before in my earlier summary and I do not need to repeat it. Sixth, the Board of Kenya Airways does not have the latitude to waive employment qualifications which form part of its own labour requirements. Professional qualification and minimum level of experience and the genre of work experience for accountable managers and technical staff must always prevail against the discretion of the Board, however well founded. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, discretion, as lawyers know, is a very delicate thing. You can use it wisely but you can also use it opportunistically. The outcome of how you use it will be seen subsequently. So, we raised a red flag over that discretionary role of the Board at that point in time because we believe that companies like Kenya Airways with tremendous investments and capital – we visited the airline, it is a fantastic business notwithstanding their problems. The crew and the pilot management have under the circumstances done a job that is appreciable. Nonetheless, even then, these failures cannot be overlooked. Seventh, the data submitted to the Committee by Kenya Airways on the savings made on operational costs were un-instructive to enable the Committee to draw any conclusions as to whether the airline actually saved on costs through outsourcing. One of the reasons given for outsourcing staff and services and so on is that you save on costs. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}