The National Cohesion and Equal Opportunities Committee has lauded the management of the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) for its efforts to comply with the requirement to reserve part of its annual procurement budget for special interest groups.
Committee Chairperson Hon. Adan Haji (Mandera West) commended the authority for adhering to the requirement when the House team met KPA Managing Director Captain William Ruto.
The Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) programme requires all public procuring entities at both national and county levels to set aside at least 30 per cent of their annual procurement budget for enterprises owned by youth, women, and persons with disabilities.
“As a Committee, we are pleased to note that the management of KPA has complied with the AGPO requirement,” said Hon. Haji.
Earlier, Captain Ruto, who appeared before MPs to brief the Committee on employment diversity and the reservation of 30 per cent of tenders for special interest groups, said the authority has met the requirement despite capacity challenges.
He noted that in the 2022/2023 financial year, KPA set aside Sh2.2 billion for special interest groups, Sh5.6 billion in 2023/2024, and Sh3.98 billion in 2024/2025, representing 30 per cent of the procurement budget in each of the respective financial years.
On employment diversity, the KPA boss told lawmakers that the local Mijikenda community provides the largest share of employees.
According to the authority’s submission on staff composition by ethnicity, the Mijikenda lead with 2,044 out of a total of 5,888 staff.
They are followed by the Luo (619), Taita (459), Luhya (411), and Kikuyu (401).
The Kamba stand at 389, Kalenjin at 359, Swahili at 301, Kisii at 206, and Pokomo close the top ten at 108 employees.
In terms of gender, men account for 4,506 (77.1 per cent) of staff out of 5,844, while women number 1,338 (22.9 per cent).
Out of the total 5,844 staff, 173 are persons living with disabilities, accounting for 2.96 per cent.
By Anthony Solly
