By NATION Reporter

A bank's controversial multi-million computerisation project was still in the spotlight yesterday, with its chief executive denying that the board had ordered the sacking of the Information Technology director.

Kenya Commercial Bank CEO Gareth George denied in a statement that the bank's board had last Friday ordered the sacking of Mr Siraj Saddique over the implementation of the project.

"The board had not ordered the sacking of the IT director," he categorically said, without mentioning what the board had actually said.

But in a separate conversation with the Nation, he conceded that he had been asked by the board to consider whether it was appropriate to take disciplinary action against Mr Saddique in light of the audit report's findings.

He added that he was merely required to set in motion the normal process of handling the outcome of an audit process.

"I will have to make recommendations to the human resources committee of the board," he said.

A report of a special audit committee appointed by the board last August to investigate the project had expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which two companies – Inflex Ltd and Kindle Ltd – were eliminated from the evaluation process.

But yesterday, Mr George said that contrary to the assumption of the audit committee, Inflex and Kindle were not eliminated from the evaluation.

"Both were evaluated, one of them not shortlisted, the other was fully evaluated but eventually, was not successful," he said.

Mr George also denied that the board had recommended that the KCB management produce a project plan and budget which must be discussed before any work proceeded.