Kenya’s planned sale of state-owned firms runs into trouble

The Kenyan government intends to surrender its stake in Consolidated Bank to private investors. PHOTO | FILE | AFP

Kenya’s plan to sell 26 state-owned corporations to private investors has been delayed by bureaucracy in approval of the transactions by the executive and the proposed parastatal reforms, even as many of them continue to post poor performance.

The Privatisation Commission which was brought into being by the Privatisation Act (2005) was mandated to sell of 26 poorly performing parastatals to strategic investors to reduce their reliance on the exchequer.