Nashon Kondiwa Scales CIO Role To Become NTSA Head

Can the CIO make a formidable CEO? This question can now be put to rest because the answer is yes.

National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has appointed Nashon Kondiwa as its new Director General.

Formerly the Director ICT & Innovation at NTSA, Kondiwa is that truly rare breed who exited the private sector to transform the public sector in 2018. Prior to that he worked in a swath of corporates ranging from The Copy Cat Group and Orange Group to banks such as KCB and NCBA complete with a Vodafone stint in South Africa.

In his role as tech lead, he was charged with digital transformation. He was, for instance, responsible for the push consolidating all the drivers’ records ever registered in the country into a sole database. Prior to that, said records were scattered across the four winds of NTSA. We have him to thank for the existing streamlined database of drivers and vehicles making it easier to plug into e-Citizen.

In his August 2024 interview with CIO Africa Magazine, Kondiwa, an avid runner, declared his philosophy as “my race, my pace, my time.” It is indeed, his time. And it will be for the next three years effective 17 February 2026.

Khatib Abdallah, the NTSA Board Chairman stated that “The Board is confident that Mr Kondiwa’s proven expertise in ICT leadership and strategic vision will steer NTSA to even greater heights.”

With over two decades in ICT, Kondiwa’s innovative spirit and leadership indicate an appreciation for the tech leader. In the age of AI, demanding customers who accelerated digital transformation, compounded with the need to make profound decisions using data – data that runs the sector and must be secured to boot, then the CIO holds a trump card.

Kondiwa joins a growing list of CIOs globally rising through the C-suite ranks. The recently released KPMG 2025 Africa CEO Outlook Report caps this best. “African CEOs consider broader digital and technological literacy as the top leadership capability that is becoming essential in today’s fast-changing and unpredictable environment.”

While it is certainly the first time NTSA has a CIO as Director General, we certainly hope it won’t be the last, and that it is the beginning of a leadership trend that is built to last.