Ex-SRC boss Sarah Serem appointed chairperson of Postbank board
In a recent gazette notice, the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning, Njuguna Ndungu, announced the appointment of Sarah Serem as the new Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Kenya Post Office Savings Bank.
This appointment, which was made in accordance with the powers conferred by section 5 (2) (a) of the Kenya Post Office Savings Bank Act (Cap. 493B), is set to take effect on January 13, 2023 and will last for a period of three years.
Sarah Serem stepped down as chairperson of the Salaries Review Commission (SRC) in December 2017 having completed her term and was known to be a very forceful and self-assertive public official.
A government-owned financial institution, the Kenya Post Office Savings Bank offers savings and credit products to Kenyans. The bank has been in operation for more than a century and has contributed significantly to the advancement of financial inclusion and national economic growth.
The appointment of Sarah Serem as the Board of Directors’ Chairperson comes at a crucial time for the bank, known as Postbank, which is in severe financial distress and has seen its management spend more than KES 10 billion of investors’ money.
An audit of the state-owned savings banks’ books of accounts revealed that the bank is unable to account for KES 1.7 billion in deposits and savings from customers.
Cashiers may have stolen more than KES 35 million in customer savings, among other issues highlighted by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu in the audit recently presented to Parliament.
According to the report, the bank’s future is bleak because of its unsustainable reliance on government assistance.