President William Ruto is set to appoint a new National Social Security Fund (NSSF) chief executive officer as Anthony Omerikwa's term ends.
NSSF, on Monday, November 21, picked insider David Mwangangi as the acting CEO to temporarily fill the vacuum.
In his farewell speech, Omerikwa highlighted his eleven-year rise through the ranks at NSSF, from being a manager to general manager and later the fund's acting CEO in 2015, a position he held for 56 months before confirmation.
“As I leave the fund, I am a very proud Kenyan for all we achieved in transforming the institution.
"The Board has appointed David Mwangangi to be the interim CEO, and he will be taking over from me in acting capacity effective November 22, 2022,” the outgoing CEO indicated in a statement sent to newsrooms.
Omerikwa is credited with growing NSSF's assets from Ksh195 billion to Ksh29 billion in over eleven years.
His exit kickstarts the process of appointing his successor. Ruto is keen on changing the agency's leadership as he seeks to revamp NSSF's structure.
Ruto wants to increase monthly NSSF contributions tenfold, arguing that the Ksh200 monthly contribution is too low for a saving nation.
The President also pledged that the government would contribute Ksh1 for every Ksh2 saved by workers. Annually, the government plans on contributing Ksh 6,000 per employee if Ruto's changes are effected.
Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) secretary general, Francis Atwoli endorsed the proposal, offering Ruto a major boost.
According to Atwoli, the current NSSF deduction rate is inadequate and the lowest in the East African region.
"COTU advocates for the expansion of social protection and or retirement benefits.
"Firts horizontally to increase the coverage to include the Jua kali sector and, second, vertically to increase the rate to realize adequacy for retirement benefits," Atwoli supported the President.
