President William Ruto’s administration has announced plans to revive the privatisation of eleven state-owned institutions, including the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
In its submissions to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Ministry of Treasury noted that it would be appealing the High Court decision that declared the Privatisation Act 2023 unconstitutional.
The National Treasury, while addressing the Bretton Woods Institution, also disclosed that it had commenced the process of reevaluating seventy government entities for either liquidation, privatisation, or reintegration.
“The authorities have undertaken financial evaluations of seventy State Corporations based on their FY2022/23 accounts, providing specific recommendations and actions for each State Corporation. The National Treasury has submitted a policy paper to the Cabinet recommending the consolidation, dissolution/privatization, or reintegration into the line ministries of several State Corporations,” read part of the IMF report.
"In the 2024/2025 financial year, the authorities have launched efforts at generating more revenues for the national exchequer through the State Corporations including better management and reporting of revenues and stricter implementation of the remittance of dividends," the report added.
On September 24, the High Court in Nairobi declared the Act unconstitutional and therefore unlawful after it established the piece of legislation was not subjected to adequate public participation.
"The Constitution is the supreme law, and the public must be involved in public participation. The National Assembly does not do the public a favour by inviting them to participate," the court pronounced.
In its ruling, the court also maintained that KICC was a national monument and a symbol of national heritage whose proposed sale violated constitutional and cultural rights.
The government through the Privatisation Act 2023 announced plans to sell the Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB), KICC, National Oil Corporation (NOC), Kenya Seed Company Limited, Mwea Rice Mills, and Western Kenya Rice Mills Limited.
Other companies that were also listed for sale include the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC), Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers Limited, Rivatex East Africa Limited, and Numerical Machining Complex.
In a cabinet dispatch issued on November 23, 2023, the government revealed that one of the reasons it was selling the Kenya Literature Bureau and KICC was because the two parastatals needed to be incorporated into limited companies.
The government further added that the other institutions were being privatised largely because of poor financial performance after perenially posting huge losses.
