President Ruto's decision to merge at least 42 state corporations has encountered its first hurdle as the Pastoralists Parliamentary Group (PPG) openly opposed the move.
In a statement on Wednesday, January 29, the group expressed concern over the government's inclusion of the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya (NACONEK) as one of the entities to be dissolved.
“The Pastoralists Parliamentary Group (PPG) strongly opposes the Cabinet resolution of January 21, 2025, proposing the dissolution of the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya (NACONEK),” PPG said in the statement, arguing that the decision “threatens critical educational support for pastoralist communities.”
Established in 2015, NACONEK was created primarily to ensure equitable and quality education for marginalised groups, particularly among pastoralist communities. One of the body's core values has been supporting education in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) regions.
Besides feeding programmes in schools in ASAL regions, NACONEK, with the help of local leaders in these regions, has also set out to empower communities by promoting the value of education, especially among girls.
In the statement on Wednesday, PPG argued that NACONEK had been incorrectly classified as a state corporation during the Cabinet dispatch.
“It (NACONEK) is a semi-autonomous government agency under the Ministry of Education. It functions as an equity council, advancing the interests of marginalised communities in accordance with Article 56(b) of the Constitution of Kenya.”
Further, PPG also argued that the Cabinet failed to provide sufficient grounds for the dissolution of NACONEK, stating that the body had a unique mandate which did not overlap with any other corporation in terms of interests.
In the same statement, PPG demanded investigations into what led to NACONEK's inclusion in the list of state corporations to be dissolved.
The body also called on the Cabinet to reverse the decision to dissolve NACONEK, arguing that the future of education for marginalised communities was at risk.
According to the Cabinet dispatch on January 21, the reforms, including State corporation mergers, were necessitated by increasing fiscal pressures arising from, among other issues, constrained government resources.
The government noted that several state corporations were struggling to stay afloat, leading to an accumulation of pending bills amounting to KSh94.4 billion as of March 31, 2024.
"The reforms will address operational and financial inefficiencies, enhance service delivery, and reduce reliance on the Exchequer. The National Treasury assessed 271 state corporations, excluding those earmarked for privatization." the dispatch read in part.
