Privatization Bill, 2023

The government plans to privatize non-strategic performing state-owned enterprises that will help add value to cater for infrastructure in transport, water, health and education.

The Principal Secretary in the State Department for Economic Planning, James Muhati said this while he graced the occasion of the Public Participation on the Privatization Bill, 2023 Workshop held at KICC, in Nairobi on 7/2/2023.

The government published the privatization programme vide Gazette notice no.8739 dated 14th August ,2009 comprising of entities to be privatized as per the Privatization Act ,2005.

The objectives of the Privatization Act were: to improve the development of infrastructure and the delivery of public services by the involvement of private capital and expertise, reduce demand for government resources, generate additional government revenue and enhancement of the capital markets.

However, due to inhabiting legislative and policy framework, provided for in the Privatization Act 2005, the implementation of the programme faced a number of challenges which included long processes to get the results.

Therefore, the government initiated the repeal of the Privatization Act, 2005 to provide for a more facilitative legal and policy framework to oversee the privatization process which led to the development of the draft Privatization Bill, 2023.

The Key Provisions that have been amended include; aligning the Privatization Act to the Constitution and other laws that have been enacted upon promulgation of the Constitution in 2010 like PFM Act and PPADA; proving clarity and removing ambiguity with respect to the role and functions of the National Assembly as envisaged in the Constitution; enhancing efficiency, transparency and competitiveness of the privatization process and providing a framework for alternative dispute resolution other than the court process which takes long to resolve.

The Economic Planning Principal Secretary, James Muhati urged the stakeholders to contribute keenly on the amendments to enrich and enhance the Privatization Bill, 2023 to help achieve the intended purpose of efficiency, transparency and competitiveness of the privatization process to enable the Country attain the objectives of privatization.