Competition Authority gets new acting boss as Wang'ombe Kariuki exits
Outgoing CAK boss Wang'ombe Kariuki (left) and acting Director-General Dr Adano Wario.
The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) board has appointed Dr Adano Wario as acting Director-General following the exit of Wang'ombe Kariuki who served his second and last term.
The appointment of Dr Wario, who has been serving as the director for planning, policy and research, is effective immediately.
"Going forward, I shall prioritise deepening competition in sectors such as the digital economy, agriculture, financial services and promoting the competitiveness of SMEs. As I take lead of the team of CAK colleagues, I am fully aware that teamwork is paramount in order to advance the mandate, vision and mission of the Authority," Dr Wario said.
The CAK board lauded Mr Wang'ombe for transforming the agency from a department within the National Treasury to a semi-autonomous institution.
“His key achievements include developing a robust competition regulatory regime, enhancing financial inclusion by extinguishing exclusive mobile money agent agreements, increasing price transparency in mobile money transactions and reducing USSD charges by 90 per cent,” said CAK in a statement issued Tuesday.
"Mr Kariuki has contributed to improving Kenya’s investment climate by developing regulations that created transparency and predictability in the competition enforcement process. Through enforcement against abuse of buyer power, Mr Kariuki facilitated refunds of over Shh2.4 billion to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the retail and insurance sectors, thereby ensuring their sustenance and saving thousands of jobs," the board added.
Mr Kariuki exits after serving in public service for 30 years.
He was the competition watchdog's first ever boss after first serving as acting Director-General from August 2011 when CAK was established. He was then confirmed as the substantive head in January 2013 on a five-year contract which was renewed for another term.
