diff --git a/vars/createKubernetesCluster.groovy b/vars/createKubernetesCluster.groovy
index 4843d8b..d329de2 100644
--- a/vars/createKubernetesCluster.groovy
+++ b/vars/createKubernetesCluster.groovy
@@ -52,10 +52,10 @@
       curl -Lo ./kind https://kind.sigs.k8s.io/dl/v0.11.0/kind-linux-amd64
       chmod +x ./kind
       mv ./kind $WORKSPACE/bin/kind
-
-      # install voltctl
-      installVoltctl("${cfg.branch}")
-
+    """
+    // install voltctl
+    installVoltctl("${cfg.branch}")
+    sh """
       # start the kind cluster
       kind create cluster --name ${cfg.name} --config kind.cfg
 
diff --git a/vars/installVoltctl.groovy b/vars/installVoltctl.groovy
index 827d890..3608537 100644
--- a/vars/installVoltctl.groovy
+++ b/vars/installVoltctl.groovy
@@ -1,19 +1,28 @@
 // This keyword will install the voltctl based on the branch (e.g.: voltha-2.8 or master)
 def call(String branch) {
+
+  def voltctlVersion = ""
+  if (branch == "voltha-2.8") {
+    voltctlVersion = "1.6.11"
+  } else {
+    voltctlVersion = sh (
+      script: "curl -sSL https://api.github.com/repos/opencord/voltctl/releases/latest | jq -r .tag_name | sed -e 's/^v//g'",
+      returnStdout: true
+    ).trim()
+  }
+
+  println "Installing voltctl version ${voltctlVersion} on branch ${branch}"
+
   sh returnStdout: false, script: """
+
     mkdir -p $WORKSPACE/bin
     cd $WORKSPACE
-    if [ "${branch}" == "voltha-2.8" ]; then
-       VOLTCTL_VERSION=1.6.11
-    else
-       VOLTCTL_VERSION=\$(curl -sSL https://api.github.com/repos/opencord/voltctl/releases/latest | jq -r .tag_name | sed -e 's/^v//g')
-    fi
     HOSTOS=\$(uname -s | tr "[:upper:]" "[:lower:"])
     HOSTARCH=\$(uname -m | tr "[:upper:]" "[:lower:"])
     if [ \$HOSTARCH == "x86_64" ]; then
        HOSTARCH="amd64"
     fi
-    curl -o $WORKSPACE/bin/voltctl -sSL https://github.com/opencord/voltctl/releases/download/v\${VOLTCTL_VERSION}/voltctl-\${VOLTCTL_VERSION}-\${HOSTOS}-\${HOSTARCH}
+    curl -o $WORKSPACE/bin/voltctl -sSL https://github.com/opencord/voltctl/releases/download/v${voltctlVersion}/voltctl-${voltctlVersion}-\${HOSTOS}-\${HOSTARCH}
     chmod 755 $WORKSPACE/bin/voltctl
     voltctl version --clientonly
   """