The recruitment of a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has hit a major setback yet again following the rejection by the human resource firm picked by the commission to help in the exercise.
In a move that left the commission dazed, Alpex Consulting Africa Limited (ACAL) communicated its rejection last Friday, the very day it was supposed to sign the contract.
This is the second attempt at hiring the commission's secretary after the first failed when IEBC took too long to act upon the applications.
A ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court on May 20, stopped the initial process after the IEBC was found to have flouted the law in the requirements for applicants.
The firm explained many reasons that led to its refusal of the tough job. It stated that it was not involved in the advertisement for the position.
Another reason was that the applications were supposed to be handled by the management of IEBC, which is conflicted, given that acting CEO Marjan Hussein is also eyeing the position.
It further suggested that IEBC’s image problems arising from past elections were ‘a turn-off’.
The rejection is one of the many setbacks the commission has suffered. Only four of the 11 firms the IEBC had pre-qualified submitted their bids.
PwC Kenya and Deloitte, were among the seven firms that did not respond.
