Kenya’s President William Ruto, said on Thursday that the government was poised to privatise 35 state companies and was looking at a further 100 firms after enacting a law last month to cut down on bureaucracy.
It was gathered that Kenya last privatised a state-owned company in 2008 when it issued an IPO for 25% of the shares in telecommunications firm Safaricom.
In 2009, 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.
“We have identified the first 35 companies that we are going to offer to the private sector, and we have nearly 100 others”, the Kenyan head of state told investors.
“We have very lucrative (public) enterprises, but they are stifled by government bureaucracy, whereas the services they offer can be better provided by the private sector”, Mr Ruto also asserted.
