K P C MD Mr. Joseph Njoroge.By Mdadisi Mmoja
A major row is simmering at the newly re-branded Kenya Power Company boardroom as the management ask themselves questions as to how their main suppliers Adra International managed to delivered fake power meters without the company's quality department noticing it until the meters were installed in some parts of Eastlands, Nairobi. This is happening even before dust settles on the shoddily organized branding exercise. Already there are reports reaching the weekly vision to the effect that Kenya Power Company is set to lose millions of shillings in revenue after the newly acquired prepaid power meters installed in the Eastern areas of Nairobi notably Umoja and Donholm malfunctioned, leaving consumers to enjoy unlimited and unbilled electricity supply. Adra International is run by a Nairobi based businessman Mr.Raj Devani and has monopolized the supply of transformers and meters to Kenya Power Company with the assistance a certain board member. A high ranking insider source who spoke to us, confided that even as the company's top brass continue putting on brave faces, it is just a matter of time before the owner of Adra International is forced into withdrawing the fake meters in favor of the traditional ones or until meters of high quality are obtained. (Mr. Davani was at one time forced to recall back faulty transformers that were shipped to India for repairs, an act that led to the demotion of a Mr. Muriethi from Chief Supplies Officer to Distribution, a major story on this is to appear here, later on in the coming week).The source further said that the hurried installation of the pilot scheme was facilitated by some top level procurement managers who were acting in collaboration with the earlier mentioned board member with the sole purpose making a killing out of the importation of the meters before people became aware of their real worth. It is whispered that a cartel presided over the importation of low quality and short term meters that are only used on temporary purposes in their countries of origin notably India. This problem has cost Kenya Power Company millions in shillings and the net effect is set to be transferred to consumers' bills come end of the month.
While the war of meters is still simmering another front has been opened in the human resources department already bogged down by fears that the new prepaid system could render hundreds of meter readers and attendant workers redundant. The switch to the new prepaid system means that those motorbike riding meter readers will have nothing to do as the payment system will be computerized.
This, they moaned, will give an upper hand to the human resource manager, identified as B. K. Chumo to wield the big stick and perfect his art of victimizing those he did not like, including members of communities he considers wrong. Already there is fear that Chumo, who is described by many at Kenya Power as egoistic, vindictive and arrogant has belittled the managing director, Njoroge, whom he has continued to regard as his junior since the days they worked together in Nakuru. According to irate employees who talked to theeeklyvision, the Human resource director has put a wedge between permanent and casual employees, while fighting to renege on a collective bargaining agreement reached on earlier between the Kenya Electrical Traders and Allied Workers Union and then KPLC and KENGEN. The KPLC had offered a six percent increment which the union had rejected.
Union officials can bear witness and confirm how much money was spent on Union elections so that contract staff could take those positions. The HR is also accused of having promised some employees some allowances if they had voted out the current KETAWU office bearers led by Mr.Ernest Nadome. There are more fears that after the attempt failed, in a bid to completely silence the workers and put them at his peck and call, the senior HR department official has now assembled a group of former union officials and paid up employees and paid them to put up a press release to discredit the current union office holders and the unions affiliation to COTU. It is even alleged that Chumo has sponsored calls for the de-linking of KETAWU from COTU in order to kill the strength of the union.
The workers union has been fighting for audience with the employer vide a letter dated 17th June 2011 in which, quoting Section 62 (1) of the Labor relations Act 2007 Laws of Kenya, it sought the intervention of the ministry of Labor. They wanted the Labor ministry to invoke Section 65 of the Labor laws.
Among the issues in contention, and which Chumo and his henchmen are being accused of blocking are Salary and Wages, Responsibility allowances, standby allowances, leave allowances, principles of redundancy, medical, transfer and special accommodation and commuter allowances among others. The employees were also seeking to discuss electricity allowances risk allowances, mileage charges and suspension from duty, un procedural suspensions from duty have been a major cause for concern to employees of Kenya power. And so are employment and promotions. According to documents availed to Weekly Vision complains abound that interviews are advertised only as a formality, the truth being that the top officials at Human resource department make arrangements of giving their ‘god children’ letters earlier even when interviews are not done. They cite the case of technician who were lastly interviewed in comparison with the tribes who arc in KPLC.
“Staff with diploma were to be upgraded with a contract where their salaries was raised up to twenty thousand and above but if you investigate, you will find only the chosen for Chumo, Kalei and Monadi were lucky while others were left out because they did not have god fathers,” says the letter addressed to the KPLC board.
But the worst scenario was the loss of motor bikes where victims have either been sacked or made to pay yet some chosen few who have god fathers are not charged. They give an example of one in Mombasa who lost three of them and the issue died a natural death. “If some are being sacked because of one motorbike what about those three which are worth Ksh 900,000?,” posed a concerned employee.
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