Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) Managing Director Dr. Raymond Omollo is set to replace Dr. Karanja Kibicho as Permanent Secretary (PS) at the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government.
Should the National Assembly approve Omollo, we will be one of the most powerful PSs in President William Ruto's government, if his predecessor, Kibicho's performance is anything to go by.
Omollo was among 51 PSs that President Ruto nominated on Wednesday, November 2, as he assembles men and women that will drive his development agenda.
Education and Professional Background
According to his LinkedIn, Dr Omollo is a trained bio-statistician. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Statistics from the University of Nairobi in 2002 before attaining a certificate in Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Biostatistics from the University of Washington two years later.
He holds a Masters Degree in Biometry from the University of Nairobi, which he got between 2004 and 2006 before acquiring a PhD in applied statistics from Maseno University in 2015.
Prior to joining LBDA Dr, Omollo worked as a data manager at the UoN until 2006 before crossing over to be Head of the Data Centre and Statistician at the Data for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) until his major move in 2019.
Tenure at LBDA
Omollo was appointed to LBDA by the then East African Community Cabinet Secretary Aden Mohamed in 2019 replacing Dr Evans Atera who served in an acting capacity.
His tenure was however not without teething problems as he had to steer the corporation through an out-of-court settlement with previously retrenched workers a matter that has since faded out of the public limelight.
He has also been reprimanded in his capacity as Managing Director by the Environment and Lands Court being threatened with a six-month jail term for contempt of court.
In the case, 21 of 2013, the LBDA was contesting the ownership of a piece of land against Plaintiff Alfred Buora Ng’onga who accused the authority of continuing to fence the parcel with intention of putting up a building despite an existing court order preventing any activity on it.
“That the respondent has stated clearly that they are not afraid of the court orders and have termed the same as mere papers, a sham, a hogwash and a waste of time that could not warrant them whatsoever to have a second bite of the cherry,” read part of the ruling published by Kenya Law.
His latest headache in the organization was earlier this year when he sort a Ksh4 billion state bailout to save its property from the auctioneer's hammer.
LBDA which owns the biggest mall in the Western Kenya region in its plea to the government stated that delays in servicing a Ksh2.5 billion loan had seen it balloon to an estimated Ksh1.5 billion in interest since 2016.
He attributed the woes to low occupancy, failure to get an anchor tenant to drive traffic, and a delay in the completion of the eight-kilometre dual carriageway between Kisumu Boys roundabout and Mamboleo junction.
Interior Docket
Dr. Omollo takes over the powerful docket that is responsible for the national security and coordination of the national government, normally a hot potato for many who handled it due to its central role in government operations.
The ministry, under the office of the President, oversees public administration, internal security, the printing of Government documents, Immigration and Registration of Persons, Betting Control Probation Services, and Prison Services and championing campaigns against drug and substance abuse.
Working with the Cabinet Secretary Prof. Kithure Kindiki, Dr Omollo will also coordinate state functions and offer reception services to all Government ministries.
These roles are distributed across five main departments; Provincial Administration Services, Kenya Police, Administration Police, Government Press, and National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA).
These ‘heavy’ roles on more than one occasion normally place the CS and his PS in the crosshairs with many especially members of the opposition as was the case with his predecessor Karanja Kibicho.
