NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 11 \u2013 Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has defended the appointment of members to the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF) board, insisting the selection process was transparent, competitive and based entirely on merit.<\/p>\n
Speaking during an empowerment programme in Kisumu on Friday, Mbadi dismissed claims that the appointments were influenced by tribal or regional considerations, saying an independent panel conducted interviews and ranked candidates before recommending those selected for appointment.<\/p>\n
The Treasury CS described the National Infrastructure Fund as a transformative initiative that will play a critical role in financing Kenya\u2019s long-term infrastructure and economic development projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe interviewed 15 Kenyans and we ranked them. The appointments were based on merit and not on where someone comes from,\u201d Mbadi said.<\/p>\n
According to the CS, the recruitment exercise was overseen by a seven-member panel comprising senior professionals from the banking, legal and public sectors.<\/p>\n
He said the panel included former Africa Export-Import Bank President Prof. Benedict Oramah, Kenya Commercial Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Paul Russo, senior banking executive Richard James, Kenya Pipeline Company Board Chairperson Faith Boinett, Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, Central Bank of Kenya Governor Kamau Thugge and the chairperson of the selection council.<\/p>\n
Mbadi explained that although candidates from across the country participated in the recruitment process, only the highest-ranked applicants were selected to fill the four available positions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were only four positions and we cannot give them to all the 42 tribes,\u201d<\/em> he said.<\/p>\n The CS also defended the appointment of one of the successful candidates from Siaya County, saying she secured the position based on her professional qualifications and experience in investment banking and asset management.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is not there because she comes from Siaya. She is there because she has experience in asset management and investment banking,\u201d<\/em> Mbadi said.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is a very sharp lady who impressed the interview panel.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Mbadi stressed that the government would not compromise on the management and governance of the fund due to its strategic importance to Kenya\u2019s economic transformation agenda.<\/p>\n He said President William Ruto and the National Treasury are committed to ensuring the fund delivers on its mandate of mobilising resources for critical infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n \u201cThis National Infrastructure Fund is going to be a game changer for this country,\u201d Mbadi said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe President and I have committed ourselves to the success of this fund.\u201d<\/p>\n The CS added that individuals appointed to the fund\u2019s governing council and board were selected because of their competence, integrity and proven professional track records.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people we have appointed are people whose character, competence, capability and integrity cannot be questioned,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mbadi\u2019s remarks come amid growing public debate over the composition of the fund\u2019s leadership, with some critics alleging regional imbalance in the appointments.<\/p>\n However, the Treasury CS maintained that the recruitment process adhered to principles of transparency, competitiveness and meritocracy.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 11 \u2013 Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has defended the appointment of members to the National Infrastructure Fund (NIF) board, insisting the selection process was transparent, competitive and based entirely on merit. Speaking during an empowerment programme in Kisumu on Friday, Mbadi dismissed claims that the appointments were influenced by tribal or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146443\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}