MJ quits Tourist Board for World Bank assignment

By MACHARIA KAMAU

Barely eight months after he was appointed chairman of the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB), Michael Joseph has resigned citing commitment at the World Bank.

Joseph, who retired from Safaricom late last year, is said to have left KTB following his being named a World Bank fellow on mobile money.

Michael Joseph istaking up a new assignment at the World Bank where he will advise the global lender and governments on development of mobile payments. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

In his new task, he will advise the World Bank and governments on development of mobile payments.

"The former Safaricom chief executive has cited his appointment as a World Bank Fellow on Mobile Money as the main reason leading for relinquishing of the chairmanship," said a statement by Tourism Minister Najib Balala.

"He noted that his appointment will involve extensive travel and this prolonged absence from the country will not be fair to KTB, which deserves a chair who will accord time to the organisation."

Joseph was appointed to head the board of KTB in December last year following the lapsing of two terms of his predecessor, Jake Grieves-Cook.

While Kenya’s tourism industry has been fairly successful over the years and has until last year topped the list of Kenya’s foreign exchange earners, the product offering has been termed as stale.

Worse is the fact that the sector has been in dire need of fresh ideas to keep growing tourist numbers and sectorearnings.

Following his appointment, it was widely expected that Joseph would bring in a different perspective to Kenya’s tourism marketing and replicate the success that he had in the telecom sector in the tourism sector.

He oversaw the growth of Safaricom from infancy to being the most profitable firm in the region.

He is also credited with being a key figure in the growth of the country’s mobile telephony industry.

MJ, as he is fondly known, has been particularly synomous with M-Pesa — the world’s pioneering mobile money service.

In fact, it is primarily on this account that he got the fellowship at the World Bank.

Joesph had expressed enthusiasm in the media interviews that followed his appointment to KTB.

There is speculation that a host of factors including frustration due to government slow decision making may have led to his exit as chair of the body charged with marketing Kenya’s tourism locally and internationally.

Joseph has also been critical of the Government both while at the helm of Safaricom and even during his recent posting as KTB chairman.

While at Safaricom, he variously voiced the challenges faced by foreign investors to the dismay of Government. He recently blamed the current food crisis on the Government’s state of poor planning.