MOMBASA, September 21 – Mombasa Mayor Ahmed Mohdhar has threatened to move to court over the appointment of the Mombasa Water and Sewerage Company Board.
Mohdhar said the new board that is scheduled to be inaugurated by the Water Minister Charity Ngilu on Friday does not enjoy the Mombasa Council’s support and cannot take up office.
The Mayor claimed that they were not consulted by Ngilu on the board appointments.
“We were not consulted over the matter and therefore we will boycott Friday\’s inauguration,” he told the media.
Ngilu, on her part, has defended that she did hold consultations with various leaders, among them stakeholders, and that they had agreed on the list of board members.
Mohdhar however accused the Minister of violating the Memorandum and Articles of Association to ‘impose directors on the company’.
The mayor said Ngilu had no legal powers to either appoint or remove directors of the company.
According to documents availed to the media, Ngilu and Mohdhar have drawn two parallel lists ahead of the inauguration.
The appointment of the Board members has been marred with controversy, after a planned launch in July became a scuffle between councillors allied to Mvita MP Najib Balala and his Kisauni counterpart Hassan Joho.
At the time Ngilu disbanded the Board and directed Mombasa MPs to meet and decide on its members, she urged that 50 percent of them comprise of women.
The Minister\’s list in a letter addressed to the Mayor has Zul Harunani, Rajul Malde, Saada Rajad, Fosi Mohamed Babu, Janet Ndago, Wahidi Bawazir, Ebrahim Ismail, Shalim Hamisi – where the Managing Director of the company becomes the Board Secretary.
The Board chairman will be elected by the board members, but should not be a council official.
Additional members are representatives of the Coast Water Services Board, the Mayor and the Town Clerk Tubman Otieno.
The Mayor\’s list comprises of Tobias Odhiambo, Gladwel Otieno, Rachel Marura, Hilaa Abdillahi, Agnes Wanji, Pius Chorongo, Mohamed Khamisi, Farid Abdallah, Mohamed Sajjad and Idd Mwasina.
Fosi Mohamed and Tubman Otieno appeared in both lists.
