The board chairman at the Tourism Research Institute Richard Lagat and his board of directors are under pressure from the government to move with speed and appoint a substantive CEO. The acting Chief Executive Officer David Gitonga has been in office since 25th January 2018 in an acting capacity. Sources say he had on many occasions thwarted attempts by the board to advertise the position for a competitive process to recruit a substantive CEO.
Sources told The Weekly Vision that Mr Gitonga has enjoyed the backing and protection of a “god father” at the tourism ministry for a long. With his “godfather” now out of the top seat, those who have been eyeing the seat can now afford a smile because they say his days are now numbered at the state-owned parastatal.
Those who have worked with Mr Gitonga say that for the over three years he has acted, there is no tangible progress and that as a result of the lack of a substantive CEO, which has led to poor results. It is also being claimed that during his tenure there has been the irregular appointment of staff in acting capacity for long periods and failure to recruit sufficient staff required to execute the mandate of the Institute has resulted in poor performance of the institute.
