The Board of Directors of the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has sent home the Managing director Stephen Gichuki barely a week after Kenya's premier airport JKIA terminal went up in flames disrupting cargo and passenger traffic.
The contract of the Managing Director was to come to an end on 23rd October 2013, and the board decided to follow due process in the recruitment of a new managing director and will advertise for the position.
Gichuki leaves the KAA after a tumultuous term that ended sadly with a fire tragedy just over a week.
Consequently, an advertisement calling for qualified and interested persons to apply for the position of Managing Director of KAA will be placed in the local media over the next few days.
The outgoing Managing Director, Eng Stephen Gichuki, has been ordered to proceed on his terminal leave in accordance with the State Corporations and Regulations provisions.
He quits after a long service to the Authority. He has been replaced by Ms Lucy Mbugua as acting Managing Director to drive leadership within the Authority in an acting capacity.
Ms Mbugua was until her appointment the General Manager for Marketing and Business Development for the Authority, a position she has held for the last eight years.
Further to this, the Board notes that JKIA is a critical facility of national and regional importance and we, together with the Government of Kenya and specifically the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, will support the management of the Authority to ensure that passengers are restored to normal level of comfort in the shortest time possible.
In this regard, arrangements are being made to ensure that we move the passengers out of the tent lounges within three weeks. Towards this end, the following is being done:
- The JKIA Parking Garage will immediately be converted into a Passengers Arrival Hall.
- Unit 2 Departures between Gates 8 and 4 will be open for use by Kenya Airways by tomorrow, Friday, 16th August 2013.
- Unit 1 Check-in hall is being prepared for use by the other airlines within three weeks.
In addition to these plans:
· We expect to set up a temporary Terminal within eight weeks.
· The completion of Terminal 4 is being expedited to bring it into partial operation by the end of this year.
· The planning and construction process for the Greenfield Terminal is in progress. The Greenfield Terminal is the ultimate solution for the positioning of JKIA as an African hub.