IN THE MIDST OF CASH CRUNCH, KENYA IS PREPARING TO PRIVATIZE 35 COMPANIES

The law makes it easier to sell state enterprises to private companies and aims to push up the private sector’s participation in the economy, the presidency said at the time of the signing.

Kenya last privatised a state-owned company in 2008 when it issued an IPO for 25 percent of the shares in telecommunications firm Safaricom.

A year later, the cabinet approved a list of 26 firms to privatise including the Kenya Pipeline Company, Kenya Electricity Generating Company, and banks, but no action has yet been taken since.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said this month that it had agreed to a $938m loan for Kenya, which also has a $2bn Eurobond repayment due next year.

The IMF also urged Ruto’s government to reform public sector firms, particularly the national electricity supplier Kenya Power and the national carrier Kenya Airways, which suffered record losses in 2022.

The World Bank announced on Monday that it plans to lend $12 billion to the country of 53 million people over the next three years.

According to National Treasury data, Kenya had accrued more than 10.1 trillion shillings ($66 billion) in debt by the end of June, equivalent to over two-thirds of gross domestic product.