KICC, Kenya Pipeline, National Oil, New KCC among 11 gov't parastatals listed for privatisation

Through a public notice issued on Monday, the exchequer said that the proposal has been made in accordance with the Privatisation Act 2023 Section 21 (1) which dictates that the Treasury Cabinet Secretary shall identify and determine entities to be included in the Privatisation Programme.

Other parastatals set to be onboarded on the 2023 Privatisation Programme include the Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB), National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK), Kenya Seed Company Limited (KSC) and Mwea Rice Mills Ltd (MRM).

Others include; Western Kenya Rice Mills Ltd (WKRM), Numerical Machining Complex Limited (NMC), 35% of Vehicle Manufacturers Limited (KVM) and Rivatex East Africa Limited (REAL).

The notice further notes that a 9-step criteria has been used in selecting the aforementioned parastatals which include;

• Relevant government policies in respect of privatisation,
• Strategic priorities and policy goals to be achieved by the privatisation,
• The strategic nature of the public entity to be privatised,
• Need to avoid privatisation that may result in an unregulated monopoly,
• The need to avoid privatisation that may accord the new owners special protection or access to credit on concessionary terms as a result of the National Government’s sovereign status,
• The extent of regulatory adjustments required,
• The need to reduce the budget drain on government resources,
• The expected benefits to be gained from proposed privatisation, and any other relevant consideration.

The ministry has argued that the privatisation move will generate more revenue for the government and reduce demand for government resources among other reasons.

Meanwhile, members of the public have been invited to submit written comments or inputs Privatisation Programme and submit them electronically to privatisation@treasury.go.ke or through post or hand-delivered to the Harambee Avenue, Treasury Building before of close of business on December 11, 2023.

The privatization initiatives in Kenya have been guided by the 1998 Policy Paper on Public Enterprises Reform and Privatization and the Privatisation Act 2005.

The Policy and the Act provided a framework for the privatization and restructuring of Government-Owned Enterprises to help address challenges they are facing like insufficient capital.